Chaos Returns
by cyberdemon
Summary: COMPLETE! Sequel to Deadly Vengence. Someone from Fiona's past has returned and it is turning Fiona world upsidedown. Can she put aside her problems with Van and get his help and love before it is too late. VF.
1. the mysterious letter

Van's life had basically hit rock bottom and had come to an end since a week before when Fiona once again left his life. He had little motivation, and a longing that could no longer be fulfilled with Fiona's absence from his life. She may not have gone anywhere but even though they were close to each other it made no difference because it was like they were worlds apart. His heart had fallen deep into the pits of despair and the only way that he felt that he could get it back was by being with Fiona once again.  
  
To be so close yet to not be able to touch or hold was the same problem that Fiona was having. She left because of the constant pain their love for each other had seemed to cause on the both of them. Fiona had no wish for Van to live a life where he could probably never truly be happy. It was much more painful than even she could have expected, but the pain really lied within her. The pain that she had been feeling when it was her that shot Van, and the child that was growing inside of her was a complete mystery because she had no idea who it was that it belonged to. She just didn't want Van to be hurt anymore because of the actions that were taken because of her.  
  
'I would give anything to be able to hold her in my arms once again but she won't even acknowledge my presence anymore. I guess for her, the fastest that she can forget me is the fastest path to getting over it,' Van told himself while he absent-mindedly worked on a few repairs on the blade liger. It was strange thought because Van didn't even feel the slightest bit of anger towards Fiona. 'I guess it is because she was thinking of me when she did that. I don't care about anything that she did it for. All I want is for her to come back to me so we could be happy,' Van told himself as he stopped working and dropped the tool that he had been open. Van knew that he wouldn't be able to work at that moment so he jumped down off the blade liger and started to walk away.  
  
Irvine saw Van walking off and knew exactly what was on his mind. Irvine walked up so that he was standing right next to Van. "So how are you taking everything?" asked Irvine once the two had walked in silence for a few moments.  
  
"Ok, I guess. She won't even look at me anymore though and that makes it even worse," said Van with his head held low. It was actually becoming too painful for him to even think about it lately.  
  
"Understandable, but I don't believe that you are ok. I know that it is a great pain for you at this moment. The one problem with everything that Fiona has been doing in this situation only seems to make things worse for you," said Irvine a little angry at Fiona although she was like a sister to him.  
  
"I have tried to tell her that but she isn't listening to me. She is trying too hard to protect me and that is the greatest pain. The greatest pain is that whenever she does it ends up separating us and all I want is to be around her. To tell the truth, lately it is whenever I am around Fiona that I have ever truly been happy," Van admitted.  
  
Fiona is the one that needs to know that, not me," said Irvine but they suddenly stopped when they saw Thomas standing in the middle of the hall holding a letter but it was like he had no idea what he was doing. "I don't think that bombs can fit in a letter that thin," said Irvine with a little laugh. "Who is the letter for?" he asked snatching the letter from Thomas before he could stop him.  
  
Thomas tried to grab it back but he was unsuccessful. "It is for Fiona so please give it back," said Thomas trying to make another grab for it but Irvine once again moved it and Thomas nearly fell over but he managed to catch himself in time.  
  
"For Fiona? Haven't you gotten over her yet? Besides, you already have a girlfriend and I don't think she would be too happy to know that you were sending Fiona love letters," teased Irvine embarrassing Thomas greatly.  
  
Thomas managed to regain composure and finally snatch the letter back from Irvine. "I will have you know that this isn't from me. I was only asked to deliver it to her," admitted Thomas very annoyed with Irvine at that moment. "Now if you will excuse me, I have to get this to her so I can get back to work," said Thomas trying to get by but Irvine held out an arm and had a concerned look on his face.  
  
"Who is the letter from Thomas? In these times it might be best to watch what you give Fiona because that letter could be from Zack. It doesn't have a name on it except for Fiona's so that is always a possibility," said Irvine not wanting to upset Fiona anymore than she already was.  
  
"We don't know but I have been told to tell Fiona that if it is from him to report to Crougar immediately. They may want to keep her safe but they don't want to invade her private life any," said Thomas scratching the back of his head before he walked off. In a direction that he hoped that Fiona was in.  
  
*****  
  
Fiona just sat in front of a cup of hot salty coffee but it didn't look like she was even trying to drink any of it. Her mind was many places besides where she was at. It was hurting her but she tried to avoid Van as much as possible because she would probably go back on what she said if she were to talk to him.  
  
"I don't see why you continue to put yourself through some of the things that you do. Why is it that you always think of other people happiness before you ever think of your own?" asked Moonbay taking a seat right next to Fiona.  
  
"It is better this way," Fiona said but she knew that she was only lying to herself at that moment. "I am sure that somewhere out there is someone that can make Van happier than I ever could. I wasn't able to remain faithful to him even if I was controlled, and my own daughter is afraid of me as well," said Fiona about on the verge of tears.  
  
"It is because of all of those things that I think that you need Van. He is probably the only one that can help you physically as well as emotionally. Out of all of the people I know, you are the one that I believe deserves the most happiness. All you need to do is stop doubting everything that comes your way. I have to admit that it is becoming very tiresome to see you like that," said Moonbay pleading for her friend's happiness. "You do know that Van doesn't blame you for all that had happened, right?" asked Moonbay placing a comforting hand upon Fiona's shoulder.  
  
"Van just doesn't understand anything that is going on. I love him with all my heart but what good is love if fate doesn't give us even the smallest amount of time to be together and be happy?" said Fiona staring down at the table and finally allowing the tears that she had been building up to fall.  
  
'Van doesn't care about any of that Fiona. He is perfectly happy with any time that he is able to just spend with you. I have seen his face when he is around you. Even in these dark times, he always has a smile on his face when he is with you that he never gives to the rest of us,' Moonbay thought to herself yet was unable to say the words to Fiona. "Fiona, listen, I am begging you to stop all of this and go make up with Van," said Moonbay actually getting down on her hands and knees to show how much she wanted Fiona to do this.  
  
"I just can't do that," said Fiona standing up walking away leaving her still untouched cup of coffee. She didn't get too far before Thomas stepped in her path. "Oh hello Thomas," said Fiona forcing on a small smile despite what she was actually feeling at that moment.  
  
"Hello Fiona. Something came in for you recently and I was told to give it to you as well as a message that if it has anything to do with Zack, that you are to report it in immediately," said Thomas holding out the small letter.  
  
Fiona looked at it for a second with a cautious look before reaching out for it and taking it within her hands. "Thank you Thomas," said Fiona already starting to open it. She pulled the letter out of the envelope and Let out a breath but then a gasp a moment later.  
  
"Is it from Zack?" Moonbay and Thomas said trying to get a good look at the letter but Fiona kept on turning it out of their view so that they wouldn't be able to read it. They saw Fiona shake her head no and they let out a sigh of relief. They heard another large gasp and then Fiona rushed towards the door as fast as she could.  
  
"Hey Fiona, where are you going?" asked Moonbay rushing after Fiona and grabbing her arm. She looked into Fiona face and saw something strange within it. it wasn't anger, it wasn't fear, and it wasn't the type of look that she would only give to Van. It was less than that but more than the first two. Moonbay just really couldn't place what the look that was on Fiona's face was but she planned to get it out of Fiona because if whatever she was up to, Moonbay wasn't planning on letting her do it if it was dangerous because Moonbay still had a mission to get Van and Fiona back together.  
  
"I-I have to go somewhere," said Fiona not feeling like talking about it at that minute. She pulled herself free and started to run towards the hanger but she stopped a few moments later and looked like she was really contemplating saying something but she turned around and spoke. "If Van asks, tell him I had to go somewhere and that I promise that I will be back in a little while," said Fiona with a sad look on her face before she once again turned around and ran off.  
  
'I knew that you still cared greatly for him,' thought Moonbay giving off a smile before she let Fiona go and she turned around to go back to the kitchen to finish the cup of coffee that she started before Fiona had received the letter. She couldn't help but worrying who the letter was from anyways. Moonbay didn't want her friend hurt anymore but she could tell that Fiona wasn't lying when she said that it wasn't from Zack so that was good enough for her because Fiona wasn't known to lie. Ok, maybe except for that one time with Van but that was merely to protect him. This time with Van she had been completely honest with him when she broke up with him but it had been causing them both pain that Moonbay wished she could fix.  
  
"Hello Moonbay," said a tired looking Van when he walked into the room. He appeared to be in the same condition as Fiona in not really being able to concentrate on anything. "Where's Fiona?" asked Van hoping that he could talk to Fiona before she could get away.  
  
"She left not too long ago," said Moonbay but then she saw Van's face and quickly continued. "She told me that she was going to be gone for a little while and that she promised that she would come back," said Moonbay hoping to sooth some of Van's fears for Fiona's safety. Anyone could tell that he wanted her back but that it was Fiona who refused to get back together with him. She looked at Van's face and saw the hurt that was going through him. 'Please go back to him Fiona,' Moonbay thought to herself.  
  
*****  
  
Fiona walked through a small town looking for something that was said within the letter that she had received. Pretty soon she was in front of a restaurant. She carefully opened the door and walked in only to see that the entire place was completely empty except for one woman that was in the corner of the room that she knew was the one that had sent her the letter.  
  
The woman looked up and saw Fiona standing there and signaled her over to the table. She saw Fiona walk over until she was right in front of Fiona. "It has been quite a while Fiona," said the woman as she calmly sipped the tea that she had in front of her.  
  
"Yes, it has mother," said Fiona knowing without a doubt that the woman that was in front of her was the mother that she had left behind when she had been placed into the pod that Van had opened and set her free from. She just stood there before she carefully took a seat in front of the woman. 


	2. family reunion

Fiona stood staring at her mother who she hadn't seen for many years. It was odd but Fiona felt little respect for the woman despite her being her mother. It was something that she couldn't quite put. It was something that happened in the past but it all seemed like a blur to Fiona when she thought about it.  
  
"Why don't you sit down Fiona because we have a lot to talk about," said Fiona's mother Amber. She looked up Fiona to see that she was just standing there looking at her with dull eyes. "What's the matter? Aren't you glad to see your mother after so long?" asked Amber standing up and walking over to Fiona's side. "It would be best for you to sit down, being pregnant and all," said Amber taking Fiona completely by surprise.  
  
Fiona wasn't sure how she could have possibly have known about her pregnancy when she was sure that it never left the base up until then. This sent a strange feeling of dread spiraling into the pits of Fiona's stomach. "H-how did you know about that?" asked Fiona finally taking a seat.  
  
"I have my resources. So tell me, are you planning on marrying its father because I know that you aren't married yet?" said Amber with a smirk on her face because she was hoping to get certain things out of Fiona.  
  
Fiona now knew something strange was going on but she couldn't quite place what it was. "I don't even know who its father is," said Fiona not really liking where the conversation was going at that moment. She stood up with an intent to leave but the next thing her mother said took her by surprise.  
  
"You already know that it is Zack's. He did it to you when he had his control over you," said Amber with a smirk on her face when she saw Fiona freeze in place with a look of fear on her face.  
  
Fiona didn't know what to say. Her hands clutched her ears so she wouldn't have to listen to something like that again. "No it isn't! It has to be Van," said Fiona, which made her mother very angry.  
  
"I met Zack, he told me everything about what happened so I really don't think that is even possible for the child you are carrying to be the child of the human Flyheight," growled out her mother.  
  
"Yes Fiona. How could it be Flyheights child when it was me that had you," came Zack's voice from behind Fiona, which made Fiona jump far into a direction that was away from both her mother and Zack.  
  
"It can't be," Fiona stuttered out as she fell to the ground and crawled as far away as she could from Zack to keep him from touching her. "Keep away from me!" yelled Fiona as she grabbed the nearest chair and chucked it at him. She hoped that it would definitely do a little damage to him for all that pain that he had caused to her.  
  
Zack very easily knock the chair out of the air before it even managed to hit him. "Now that wasn't very nice to do to the father of your baby," said Zack with a hurt look on his face but Fiona could tell the he was actually smirking and merely backed away from him a few more feet.  
  
"Y-You're working for him?" Fiona asked her mother while pointing a very shaky at Zack while still trying to keep herself as far away from the repulsive man as she could.  
  
"No," said Amber as if it were the simplest thing that was capable of being said. "The truth is that he is actually works for me," said Amber taking a bit of pleasure in seeing the shocked look upon Fiona's face.  
  
It was far more information than Fiona needed to hear. She just couldn't take it, her head was spinning so fast that she was becoming very dizzy, and then she just passed out right in front of them.  
  
*****  
  
Van was walking through the base like he for the past few weeks when a strange feeling hit him like a ton of bricks. 'Fiona,' Van thought to himself having a feeling that something might have happened to her. He had no idea why he had thought this but a feeling inside of him told him that something was wrong with her.  
  
"Something the matter?" asked Irvine when he noticed that Van had stopped when Irvine was in the middle of telling him something very important that they had to do. "Hello, Zi to Van," said Irvine since Van had spaced off.  
  
Van snapped back to his senses the moment that Irvine had said that. "Oh sorry. I guess I just spaced out for a second," said Van with a nervous chuckle while rubbing the back of his head with a cheesy grin on his face.  
  
"Uh, yeah, you did. Something up?" asked Irvine trying to get to the bottom of what was wrong. He noticed that Van had spaced out again and he really got annoyed. Using all of his strength, he brought his elbow up and brought it down upon Van's head very hard.  
  
"Ouch," yelled Van clutched the top of his very sore head. "What the hell did you do that for?" Van yelled through gritted teeth. He just knew that there was either going to be a bump or a very sore head in his near future.  
  
"You kept spacing out! What the hell is wrong with you today? No, wait, never mind that question. It is the same as it has been for the past few weeks, Fiona," said Irvine knowing that he had hit the nail on the head with his statement and the look on Van's face confirmed it.  
  
"I don't now why, but I have this bad feeling like something bad has happened to her. Despite her not wanting me anymore I still want her back. I have never felt like this before and it is driving me nuts. It is like I can feel her emotions now and just a moment ago I got this very bad feeling, like something bad might have happened to Fiona," said Van in a solemn tone.  
  
Irvine hated to admit it but in a way he believed Van. He had seen so many strange things in his time that happened between the two of them that made him not doubt Van's words. It was like they did have a bond with each other and that bond was what kept dragging them back together despite what each of them go through. Irvine was kind of hoping that it would work sometime soon so that the two of them wouldn't be so miserable without each other.  
  
"I want her back Irvine, I want her back so badly that it hurts. Why is it that we aren't able to be happy together? Why is it that there is always something standing in the way of our happiness?" asked Van leaning against a wall with his arms crossed.  
  
"I am guessing that it is because Zack is still around. He needs to be stopped. Maybe then the two of you can actually live happily if she wants you back," said Irvine doing the same thing as Van. "Despite what she does all the time, everyone can tell that she loves you. She wouldn't have agreed to marry you if she didn't, even if it didn't last," said Irvine rubbing his forehead as a headache was starting to form.  
  
"I know she does, which is why I can't figure out why she did what she did. I don't care if something stands in our way, as long as there is hope for happiness then I will take it. Fiona is what makes me happy and I would do anything for her," said Van once again standing on his feet. "I made a decision. When Fiona comes back I am going to talk to her. I will makes sure she doesn't try to avoid me again," said Van when he started to once again walk.  
  
"You should have done that in the first place. Might have saved you from so much heartbreak over the past few months. Actually, what you should have done was stopped her before she left all those years ago. That would have saved much more pain," said Irvine keeping a calm expression on his face.  
  
"What's done is done. That is all in the past now and I am trying to get by that. If I were able to change the past then I would have done it a long time ago. I would have woken myself up and stopped her, but I can't. I managed to get by that and have forgiven her for it," said van with his head downcast. "I wish there was a way to change the past though," he muttered to himself.  
  
"Unfortunately we can't, just like you said, but what we can do is make the best of the present. You love her then you had better go and get her back before she is gone from your life completely. You have been through so much so far to give up now. If you love her as much as you say then you know what to do," said Irvine and Van could only nod in response.  
  
*****  
  
Fiona's eyes fluttered open to only to find her in a room that was not her own. The walls were pink and the bed she was sleeping on was much softer than her normal bed but her normal bed wasn't exactly too bad, in fact it was actually very soft which made this one feel even softer though.  
  
Fiona panicked. She could remember all that had happened and now she was worried that Zack and her mother might have done something to her. All that she knew at that moment was that she wanted to get out of there. Get back to the base, get back to her daughter, and get back to... Van. She could only fool herself for so long before she knew it was a mistake to leave him but she wasn't going to go back because although she hated herself for it, as long as she was with Van there would only be more heartbreak and suffering.  
  
'Face it Fiona, he will be much better off without you in the long run. He can be happy and get married to someone that can actually make him happy,' thought Fiona but it brought a pain to her heart to merely think about it. The thought of Van with someone else hurt her but she knew it was for the best.  
  
'For now, why don't I just try to find a way out of here before I am forced to come face to face with that bastard Zack and my loving mother,' thought Fiona making sure to put an emphasis and the word loving. A true mother would have never tried to put her through all of this. She had been the one that had been operating Zack all this time, the one to bring about her suffering all because she was in love with Van.  
  
Fiona walked around the room looking for some escape. It was very surprising to her when she was able to open up the doors to the room so easily because they were not locked. 'What is going on?' Fiona asked herself as she stepped out into the lighted hallway. Sun shined through the window that outlined the hallway. It gave a warm feel to the place but Fiona merely ignored it as she carefully walked through the halls.  
  
Although Fiona wanted to get out of the place as fast as possible, she was also kept there because she wanted to talk with her mother in an attempt to get her to stop all of this. It was merely a fool's hope but it gave her a little amount of comfort in hoping that she could succeed.  
  
She walked down hall after hall while eventually backtracking a few times. She now found herself standing in front of a large double door. It was made out of white wood and was beautifully carved with many different type of flowers carved along the front of the door.  
  
Fiona knew that she was going to end up finding her mother on the other side of the door so she worked up her courage and opened the doors. She walked into the room that was painted a white color and had flowers all over the place.  
  
Sure enough, Fiona's mother was in the room seated behind a desk. Unfortunately for Fiona so was Zack and another woman that she had not seen before. She was very beautiful with her long purple hair and violet eyes, which held a look of hatred towards Fiona. She could also see Zack staring at her with a look of longing in his eyes that made her want to throw up. Her mother just remained calm as she watched Fiona walk into the room.  
  
"So you are finally awake I see," said her mother with her head leaning against her hands. "You already know Zack," said Amber motioning towards Zack but Fiona didn't even bother to look at him out of repulsion. "This is Rachael, another zoidian that is under my control. Except for maybe the traitor Reese and a handful of other zoidians, we are the last of our kind Fiona, the last of the full-blooded zoidians," said Amber in a calm tone.  
  
"I don't care about that. I don't want to be here. Why are you doing this? Why is it that you won't leave me alone?" Fiona asked her while leaning against the side of the door to keep her balance because she was starting to feel a bit weak and she also felt like throwing up.  
  
"I am not going to force you to stay here, at least for now. It is time that you stood by my side Fiona. Take your place where you should have been from the beginning. Help me revive the zoidian race. You and the child you are currently carrying are both full-blooded zoidians, so you are some of the keys to my plans," said Amber looking at Fiona with a needing gaze.  
  
"No! If you think I am just going to leave my child just so that I will be with you then you are sadly mistaken. Even if Kristi weren't alive I still wouldn't help you. You have caused me nothing but pain ever since you started this foolish crusade," yelled Fiona as she backed up a few feet.  
  
"I will give you a bit more time to think about it. I am sure that you will choose the wise choice in the matter and join with me and leave the disgusting half-breed and the human behind you. Just come back to me when you decide to join me," said Amber with a smirk as she watched Fiona run out of the room as fast as she could.  
  
Zack was about to follow her when Rachael grabbed his arm to stop him upon Amber's request. "Let her go. I realize that you want her and you shall have her. It is only the right thing to do considering that she is carrying your child. Just give her a little time before you talk to her," said Amber in a calm voice as the echoing of Fiona's feet died away. 


	3. unexpected find

Fiona ran like she had never run before. She was scared; she wanted to get away from it all, her mother, as well as the bastard Zack, and anything that had to do with their foolish crusade that had torn apart her life from the very beginning. She wanted Van, she wanted to feel the warmth of his arms, and his words of worry.  
  
'No! I have put him through far too much as it is. I do not wish to hurt him more than I already have,' said Fiona and then she stopped for a few seconds to catch her breathe since she was sure that she was far enough away from them. It was then that she let go of the tears that she had been holding in for so long.  
  
As soon as she started thought she stopped herself while wiping away the tear that had only a second before been coming down her face. "No, I will be strong. I won't allow to let myself become weak or else the ones that I love will be hurt," Fiona told herself.  
  
Fiona looked at her surroundings. She was in the desert still but off in the distance she could see the faint outline of a town. Fiona sadly started to walk once again in that direction.  
  
Fiona walked for about an hour or two before she came upon the entrance to the town. She figured that she could find a place to rest there before she headed back to once again face Van and their daughter. 'Great, I can't face Van and our own daughter is afraid of me because of what I had done. I don't know how I will be able to face either of them because of all that has happened,' thought Fiona with a frown as she walked down the crowded streets with all of its happy occupants. 'At least they are happy,' thought Fiona bitterly.  
  
She continued to walk but stopped when she heard a voice call out to her. She didn't know where it came from so she turned to look around and saw and old lady with a smile on her face standing in the doorway of what appeared to be a hotel. "Greeting young on. Are you in need of a place to stay because we have some vacancies? I saw you just come into town so I figure that you must be in need of a place to stay. You must be tired because you were walking although I don't know how you managed to survive out there," said the woman with a bright smile upon her face.  
  
Fiona knew that she was right. All that she had was a water bottle that she managed to grab before she ran away from her mother. It was all that she felt she would need at the time but now she was tired and hungry. "Thank you," said Fiona putting on a polite smile.  
  
"Don't mention it. It is always nice to see new faces anyways," said the woman as she led her into the hotel but it appeared to be more of a home than a hotel on the inside. Fiona figured out that it must have been something like a boarding home more than likely. Either that or this woman loved to decorate it like a home.  
  
Fiona didn't know why but she felt very at home in this place. It was calm, quiet, and very beautiful. It gave her a feeling as if it was her home when she first walked in but she never really had a home except for the small one she and her daughter lived in when she ran away from Van.  
  
There were pictures everywhere of people that Fiona had never seen before. Then again she hadn't eve met these people so that was the reason that's she didn't know anyone in the pictures. One picture seemed to catch her eye however. It was a picture of a woman who appeared to be in her mid twenties. She was very beautiful with her long brown hair that reached down to her waist and sparkling blue eyes. It wasn't that that caught her attention however. Fiona couldn't help but feel that the woman looked very familiar as if Fiona had met her but she was also sure that she had never met the person.  
  
"Are you hungry young lady? If you would like I will make us something to eat because I am starving as well," said the woman with a smile as she headed into a room that Fiona could only guess was the kitchen.  
  
"Yes, please. If it is not any inconvenience. By the way, my name is Fiona," she said while still looking at many of the pictures that adorned the walls and shelves. They were all mainly about the woman but there were a few of two children who Fiona felt looked familiar as well. One of the children was a girl and she appeared to be a few years older than a boy but not by much. The boy was still a baby in the picture yet the look on his face reminded Fiona of someone she knew.  
  
"Those are the pictures of my family, although I haven't seen any of them in years. All that is left as far as I know are my grandchildren however," said the old woman appearing behind Fiona so suddenly that it startled her greatly. "This one here was my daughter. She was very beautiful as you can see but sadly enough she died a few years back of some disease. These two here are my grandchildren. I have no idea what has become of either of them. I haven't talked to their father ever since my daughter died, so I ended up losing touch with my grandchildren," said the woman as her happy smile turned into a sad frown.  
  
"I am sorry to hear that," said Fiona while still looking at the photo of the two children trying to decipher what this weird feeling that she was getting when she looked at them were.  
  
"I have been living here alone with only my husband. I hope that sometime before I die I can see both of them again so that I would have more of my family around me. By now I think that my grandson is about your age if I am right. Anyways, why don't we head into the kitchen and get something to eat?" said the woman with a smile as she turned around.  
  
The way that she was talking made Fiona realize that this place wasn't a hotel or a boarding house but just a regular, rather large home. "Why is it that you are helping me? I have never met you before but you suddenly come out of nowhere and give me a place to safety. Why is that?" asked Fiona as she followed the woman.  
  
"It is because you reminded me so much of my daughter I guess. She always seemed to be sad a lot of the time like you were when you first came. Plus that and I have this strange feeling about you. I am not sure what it is but I just felt like I needed to give you a place to stay," said the old woman with a smile. "You may think of me as a senile old woman that way but usually my intuition tends to always be right," said the woman as she took a seat at the table.  
  
"I don't think that at all. I am not positive about it but you maybe right," said Fiona with a weak smile. "So tell me about your family?" said Fiona trying to lighten the situation a little.  
  
"All of my life since my daughter was born, I had wanted to give only the best to my daughter; Clothes, food, any supplies that she would ever need. She was always a handful though. Always running off and doing what she felt like. I guess that is how she met her husband," said the woman trying hard to remember as much as she could.  
  
"I guess I know what you mean. I have a daughter of my own, and she is quite a handful at times. Either way I love her with all my heart because she was all I had for a while," said Fiona with a frown remembering what had happened.  
  
"You're a mother? You look a little young to be one. But then again, my daughter was about your age as well when she had her first child. Why was she all you had? Where was her father?" asked the woman curiously finding the situation very interesting for some reason.  
  
"I ran away. I loved him with all my heart but I was scared because I was going through a very tough time. For five years it was just my daughter Kristi and I. Then our village was attacked and I ended up back with him. I have tried since then to make things right but everything only seemed to go wrong. I couldn't take putting him in any more pain because of me and I left again. My life is a complete mess right now. My mothers crazy, I can't face the one I love, my daughter is slightly afraid of me, and I have someone that won't leave me alone. I just want a normal life," said Fiona with a sigh as she laid her head down on the table.  
  
"I am sorry to hear all of that. You shouldn't run from your problems though. If the person that you love was willing to take you back even after you left then that shows that he must really love you. I guess I ran from it when my daughter died. I ran and missed out on many things that might of made things better for me. I think it would be best for you to go back to him," she said with an encouraging smile on her face.  
  
"I'm not sure that I can. I have already messed things up beyond repair as it is. Wars are stupid, they tear families and friends apart, and cause us to lose those that are closest to us," said Fiona standing up and once again walking towards the pictures once again.  
  
"I know what you mean. My son-in-law was part of the military. He was on a mission when he met my daughter and they almost instantly fell in love despite my attempts to pair her up with someone that I thought would make a much better husband. The thing is that you just can't stop love. No matter how much you try it is far to hard to try and stop it," said the woman but she stopped when she noticed Fiona looking into another picture with a strong stare. "Even as a child she was beautiful," she said noticing that the picture was one of her daughter when she was about 6 years old.  
  
"She looks just like my daughter," said Fiona in amazement while staring at the picture. The something came to her mind. "What was your daughters name and also your grandkids?" asked Fiona as she walked over to some of the other pictures that she had seen before.  
  
"My daughters name was Lily, and my grandchildren's... oh, what were they again? I haven't seen them in so many years that it is hard to remember at my old age. Oh yes! It was Maria and Van," said the woman with a smile.  
  
Fiona felt like she had been hit by a ton of bricks. 'Oh the irony of things,' Fiona told herself. "Their last name wouldn't happen to be Flyheight would it?" asked Fiona a little scared yet anxious to know if it really was Van and Maria.  
  
"Why yes it is, children of Lily and Dan Flyheight. You may also know of Van as the hero who saved planet Zi now that I remember that. I completely forgot about it. it might of made it easier to know where he is," she said with a laugh, then she noticed Fiona's shocked expression. "What's wrong with you?" she asked out of concern.  
  
"V-V-Van is the father of my child," stuttered Fiona greatly surprised that she was talking to Van's grandmother of all people. "You mean that you are his grandmother?" asked Fiona a little more calmly.  
  
The old woman's eyes were wide in shock. "You mean I am a great- grandmother? I never thought that I would live to see the day," she said only slightly shocked. She had known that there was something about Fiona when she had seen her and she now knew that this was what it was. "I am very glad for him then. You are a very lovely and kind woman," she said with a smile. "Why don't you tell me more about him and his sister and how the two of you met," she said rather excitedly. "Oh, I forgot to tell you my name, it is Mary," said Mary with a bright smile.  
  
"They are both fine. About the way we met, it may sound kind of weird but it is the truth. He originally found me inside of a capsule. We traveled around together for a long time and I guess that is how I fell in love with him. I am not sure how he fell for me but I never really asked. Me and my zoidian powers have only brought him pain though," said Fiona sadly.  
  
"So you are a zoidian? That explains why you were in one of those capsules. To tell the truth, our family had connections with many zoidians in the past. It made us unpopular for some of them but we were friends with most of them," said Mary remembering some of the things that she had been told when she was young by her parents.  
  
"More then likely my mother was one of them. She dislikes me because I am in love with Van, and she hates my daughter for only being half-zoidian. She just suddenly came back recently and started to make demands for me to marry someone of her choice because of the child I am carrying right now," said Fiona in a disgusted voice.  
  
"You mean the child you are carrying isn't Van's?" asked Mary a little disgusted but she could tell that there might be far more behind it than she could figure out at that moment.  
  
"To tell the truth, I don't know. It could be his, or it could be from the man that I despise more than anything else on this planet. He had some sort of control over me. Although it was slipping at the time I ended up blacking out at that moment so I have no idea what happened. It is the reason that I left Van this time. It wouldn't be fair to him if it did turn out to be someone else's. I am not saying that I would go to that disgusting man. I would never do that," said Fiona finding it hard to reminisce about what had happened.  
  
"I see, those kind of men are disgusting, forcing themselves on innocent people. What would you do if it did turn out to be Van's?" she asked hoping for a good answer out of Fiona.  
  
"I don't know. I guess I will have to decide that when the time comes. I am not sure if it would change anything though. I think that things are over for us either way," said Fiona sadly. Tears started to come down her eyes thinking of a life without Van. She wanted him but she felt she couldn't have him the way that both of them would like.  
  
"Why don't you go and get some sleep? It might do you some good to rest for a little while after all that you have gone through," said Mary with a smile as she led the way to one of the rooms.  
  
"Thank you. I don't know how I can ever be able to repay you for all of the kindness that you have shown me today," said Fiona trying to think of some of the things that she could do.  
  
"That is simple. Just take me to see Van and Maria and I will call it even. It will be nice to see the two of them once again," said Mary a little dreamily. "But for now get some sleep," said Mary pushing Fiona into the room and closing the door. 'Plus I want you to look good for Van because I want to try and fix what is going on between the two of you,' she thought to herself with a grin before walking away. 


	4. deadly proposal

"I swear, falling in love with someone is just far too painful," muttered Van as he sulked around a bit while trying to find out what happened to Fiona. She may not want to be with him but that didn't stop him from loving her or wishing to be with her.  
  
"I know how you feel and I would feel the same way if I was forced away from the person that I loved most. However, I don't really know how you are feeling so I guess I can't say anything," said Irvine walking by his side.  
  
"I really want her back. I was forced away from her for five years and I don't want it to be any longer than that. She keeps think that she is helping me but it is only making me feel worse," he said sadly as he walked with his head facing towards the ground.  
  
"She loves you. Everyone knows that Van," said Irvine stopping causing Van to stop as well. "She could very well be pregnant with both of your worst enemies child. She has no wish to put you through that. I am sure that if she wasn't, then she would definitely come right back to you, but she is not one to just get rid of a life like that," he said in an attempt to knock some sense into Van.  
  
"I realize that but I am not going to think of it as his child but as hers. She had no choice in the matter since he forced this upon her. I don't blame her for it," said Van, but he was cut off.  
  
"Hey you two," yelled Moonbay walking towards them with a smile on her face which confused the both of them. "Guess what?" asked Moonbay but seeing their confused looks she continued, "Fiona's back."

Fiona gripped onto the car tight as it skidded to a stop. She was regretting allowing the old woman to drive. 'Who would have thought that someone her age could drive like that?' Fiona asked herself getting out of the car a little shakily.  
  
"Fiona!" yelled Moonbay as she ran up to her. "Where did you go?" she asked but then she saw the sad look within Fiona's eyes. "You don't look so good Fiona," said Moonbay knowing that something horrible must have happened.  
  
"I don't really feel like talking about it," said Fiona looking at the ground. It was then that Fiona noticed that Van wasn't present. "Where's Van?" she asked before she could stop herself.  
  
Moonbay couldn't help but smirk because she knew that Fiona still cared about Van too much even if she refuses to be with him. "He is over there," said Moonbay pointing towards the entrance to the hanger where Van was already walking away. "You should really talk to him Fiona. He is hurt because of what you are doing to him," said Moonbay trying to make her friends happy again.  
  
"I can't do that," Fiona replied stubbornly before she walked away. 'The less contact we have with each other the better. Van deserves someone that can make him happy and be loyal to him. I am stuck with possibly another mans child. He deserves better than me,' she thought sadly before she got right back in the car and drove away because she felt like she needed more time to herself.  
  
Mary just watched as she drove away with a frown on her face. The love for her grandson was very clear within the young woman's eyes but there was reluctance in them to get too involved with him as well. She didn't know how someone could be so in love with another and yet deny herself the happiness that they deserved.  
  
She walked off in the direction that she had seen Van walking. She was unsure if Van had seen her but she was going to make sure that she was able to talk to him. It was obvious by what she had seen that he was distraught about what was going on between Fiona and himself and she was very eager to try and help.  
  
She stopped when she heard a banging on the walls and was very curious as to what was going on. She followed the source of the noise and found Van leaning against the wall with his head and fist pounding upon it in an attempt to relieve his stress. "Van?" she said as she stopped as well as him.  
  
Van turned his head to see a face that he hadn't seen for a while. This actually brought a smile to his face, a sight that hadn't been seen for a long amount of times. "Hey grandma. How you get in here it is a military base?" asked Van with a smile as he gave her a hug.  
  
"I came with Fiona and walked off before anyone could say anything about me even being here. They know who I am though so I don't think they would have done anything anyways," she replied walking next to him and leaning against the wall as well. "Quite a nice girl that Fiona is. It seems that the two of you are having a lot of problems," said Mary frowning slightly because she hated to see her grandson look so sad.  
  
"So she told you what happened? I bet you told her that weird excuse to make her bring you here about not seeing us since mother died," said Van not able to hold in the chuckles at the story his grandma seemed to love to tell.  
  
She gave off a kind of goofy smile before she replied to him. "I'm sorry to hear about all that has been happening to you. You are both such good people that have such bad things happen to them. Why don't you try to give her another chance?" she asked.  
  
"I would but she isn't giving me a chance. I would do anything to have her back but she seems to refuse to be with me," said Van sadly while shoving his hands into his pockets and staring at the ground as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.  
  
"That is not what I saw back in the hanger. One of the first things that she asked when she got out of the car was where you were. You didn't even bother to try and talk to her, all you did was walk away," she said looking at him with a disappointed look in her eyes.  
  
"I gave her a lot of chances in the past. Five years ago something happened between us and she ran off. I missed the first years of my own daughter's life because of her stunt yet I forgave her and ever since then she keeps pushing away each time I forgave her yet she just doesn't seem to want to be with me," he said sadly. Thinking about each of those times sent a pain into his heart and made him wonder why he kept giving her so many chances. 'Because you love her with all of your heart,' thought Van knowing that he always would keep giving her chances just so that he could be with her.  
  
"She is very selfless from what I can tell. She almost never does things like that for herself. She puts other before her even if it means that she has to make sacrifices. She may not show it with her actions but she really loves you with all of her heart. You are lucky to just have someone like her," she said trying to cheer Van up. A thought then came to her mind. "Now where is that little girl of yours? I am very anxious to meet her," she said with a bright smile.  
  
Van couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. The last time he had seen her was before his and Fiona's relationship even got started. He remembered that she used to keep nagging him about great-grandchildren. Back then the comment always made him blush because he thought that might never happen with his job. He knew he was wrong now. He had a child with the woman that he loved. Even though they could never seem to remain together, their daughter was the proof that they did love each other greatly. "Come on, I will show you," he said walking towards where he knew his daughter was and he knew that she was playing with Zeke.  
  
Van led his mother away and soon they came up to Zeke and Van's daughter. At the moment Zeke was giving her a piggyback ride. That brought back memories to Van as he remembered his first encounter with her. Zeke had given her a piggyback ride and nearly crashed into a wall with her if Van hadn't jumped in at the last second.  
  
Mary gave a slight gasp as she looked at the young girl. "She is absolutely beautiful. She looks so much like your mother did at that age," she said with a smile towards the beautiful young girl.  
  
'I think that she looks more like Fiona than she does my mother. Either way, she is still the cutest girl her age,' thought Van with a proud smile since she was his daughter and not someone else's kid. 'I don't want to take care of her alone. I want to be able to take care of her with Fiona at my side,' he continued to think.  
  
Kristi saw her father and smiled brightly before hoping off of Zeke and running into his arms much like Fiona used to do. "Daddy!" she said very happily before she noticed the older woman that was standing right by him. "Who's that?" she asked in her young tone of voice.  
  
"That is your great-grandmother sweetie. That mean that she was my mothers mother," said Van because he felt that she might not understand at her age but she was awfully smart for someone her age so there was a good chance that his explanation was for nothing.  
  
She wiggled out of Van's arms and slowly walked up to the elderly woman with a cautious look on her face. Lately she had been finding it hard to trust anyone especially after what her own mother did to her. She loved her mother but she was scared that maybe it would happen again. She looked up and saw the friendly and loving smile of the elderly woman and she couldn't help but smile as well.Fiona stirred some salt into the cup of coffee that she had gotten when she came to the closest town to the base. Her eyes held so much sadness. She was hoping that when she got back that Van would try to find some way to get her back. Although she didn't know what she would do, she just wished to be able to talk to him.  
  
"I am sorry miss but we are closing," said one of the waiters causing Fiona to look out the window to see that the sun had already set. He watched her as she finished her coffee before getting up and walking out of the restaurant.  
  
Fiona honestly didn't know where all the time had gone. There was plenty of daylight when she had first walked into the restaurant. 'I guess I was so lost in thought that I completely lost track of time. No wonder why the coffee was cold when I drank it,' she thought sadly.  
  
Fiona missed it all, all of the things that she could no longer have. The warmth of Van's embrace, the feel of his lips on hers, as well as others things that made her blush just to think about. All of these thought zoned her out from the world. Being lost in her thoughts she didn't see or hear the footsteps of another behind her.  
  
Fiona jumped when she finally heard a crashing noise from behind her. She turned around quickly but she found no one there. Then a small animal ran out from an alley and she breathed a sigh of relief. She turned back around only to run into someone's chest. She looked up and paled greatly before backing as far away as she could.  
  
"What's the matter Fiona? Aren't you glad to see me?" asked Zack with an evil grin on his face as he took a few steps towards Fiona who only did whatever she could to keep as far away from him as she could.  
  
"W-what do you want?" asked a petrified Fiona. She was scared that he might do what he did to her before. Brainwash her, put her against her friends, and try to take advantage of her again.  
  
"Is it so wrong to want to see the mother of my child?" he asked continuing to take steps towards her but she just kept getting further away from him. "All I really came for is to be able to talk to you," he said as if it was the easiest thing to do.  
  
"I don't give a care what it is that you have to say. I want you to leave me, Van, and my children alone. This one will have nothing to do with you," she growled out finding a little courage but it was soon gone when he took a few steps forward and she became even more scared of him hurting her again.  
  
"I have come with a deal for you Fiona. Although your mother has already talked to you about it, I wanted to ask you in person. Forget that pathetic human Fiona, I want you to marry me and we can raise that pureblooded zoidian child together," he said with a weird smile on his face. "Of course I am not going to force you," he said finally stopping his walk towards her.  
  
"And if I say no?" asked Fiona glaring at the man before her with pure hatred. Never in her life had she hated anyone as much as she hated this man. She knew that he would say something that would force her to accept his proposal although she wouldn't do that.  
  
"Then I guess your friends will have to die. They are all growing weak Fiona including your beloved Van. I could easily kill them off, one by one until they are all dead. Everyone that you hold dear may die with your decision," he said with an evil smirk on his face. He would go to any means in order to get what he wanted and what he wanted most was Fiona. "I await your favorable reply Fiona and I suggest that you don't tell anyone about this little encounter. Come back here when you are ready to give me your answer," he said before walking off.  
  
A shocked Fiona was backed against a wall. She was scared by what he had said. She knew he would try something but she didn't think that it would be that bad. Her legs buckled from underneath her and she collapsed onto her knees. 'No, no, no, no,' Fiona kept repeating in her head while clutching it.Van walked along the corridors of the base with his daughter in his arms. Although she was awake, she was very tired and Van was taking her to get some sleep. Van suddenly came to a stop when he saw Fiona walked mindlessly through the corridors to her room. "Fiona?" asked Van in a worried tone. She did not look too good at that moment.  
  
Fiona stopped when she heard the worried voice of Van. She looked up and into the eyes of both her love and her daughter. Her daughter squirmed a little but remained still. She was shaking greatly and then her barriers broke. The tears that she had been holding in for so long finally broke and she collapsed to her knees.  
  
Upon seeing this, Van immediately knew that something was wrong. He set down his daughter and slowly walked towards Fiona so as to not startle her. He kneeled down in front of her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.  
  
Fiona didn't even look at Van when he did this. The comfort from him just didn't seem enough. Her world was shattered, as was her faith. She no longer knew what to do. Fiona suddenly felt a second smaller pair of hand. She looked up to see her daughter crying as well. With a cry of mommy, Kristi dived into Fiona and wrapped her arms around her tightly, something that helped Fiona greatly. She wrapped her arms around her as well and they both cried together.  
  
For some reason, Van didn't feel welcomed at that moment between the mother and her daughter. It was time that those two made up but Van had no idea when it would be that he could have Fiona again. 'At the rate things are going, it will be never,' Van thought before he sadly turned around and left the two of them alone. 


	5. Fiona's stand

Van was both happy and sad at the same time. He was happy because Fiona and their daughter were able to make amends, but he was unhappy that it couldn't be the same for him Fiona and him.  
  
'Why can't that happen to us as well?' Van mentally pleaded. Everything was becoming nothing more than a mere dream, a fading dream that would soon be gone from his life forever if not already gone. He found it very hard to concentrate on anything lately because of that and it was starting to show in everything that he was doing.  
  
"Van?" came Irvine's voice causing Van to turn around and look at Irvine with sad eyes. "Crougar wanted to see you. He said something about testing modifications to the blade liger," Irvine informed him before walking away since he knew Van would most likely want to be alone.  
  
Van had no idea whether or not he felt up to doing something like this at the time. However, he knew that it was an order from Crougar so it was not in his place to disobey his commanding officer. He may hold a high rank but Crougar was still higher so he had to obey.

Although she found it very hard to believe a man like Zack, Fiona still felt very unnerved by all that he had said. She was unsure as to why that is though. She trusted in Van and his abilities to get him through every situation.  
  
Fiona was now sitting down in the command center watching some tests being done for the improvements that they attempted to make to the blade liger. She had to see for herself Van's current abilities to be able to put her uneasiness behind her. 'Come on Van, prove him wrong,' she thought watching a screen intently. She did not want to have anything to do with Zack so she was proving to herself that he was wrong.  
  
It did not take her very long to start to worry about what was happening. "Van, what is going on out there, I know you are more capable of piloting a zoid then that," she heard Crougar say through a communication to the blade liger.  
  
As if to make things any worse, the data that she was currently looking at was not helping her already bad feeling as it was. The stats for the blade liger were far lower than they usually were whenever they did any tests on them. She was scared beyond anything she had ever been before. Van really was getting weaker.  
  
'No!' Fiona's mind screamed at her. She couldn't stay there and watch, as Zack was proved right. She couldn't stay there and watch, as Van led himself down a path towards destruction. She got up from her seat and ran as quickly out of the room as she could so that her beliefs weren't hurt anymore.  
  
Crougar could only watch as Fiona ran out of the room. 'What's wrong with her? Van just can't concentrate. So why is it that she seems to be taking it so badly?' Crougar asked himself but just shrugged and turned back to the screen.  
  
Fiona ran and ran until she came to her room. She went inside and collapsed onto her knees. Her hands went straight to her face while she cried. Cried for all those that were hurt because of her. She just knew that the problem with Van was because of her. She did not want to go through with what Zack had planned for her but she did know what it was that she had to do. She would do it to protect Van, Kristi, and all of their friends. She would not allow them to be hurt.Van hopped out of the blade liger. He was frustrated by his lack of concentration these past few weeks but he knew that only Fiona could stop it. She didn't want anything to do with him though. He was cursed to loving someone that refused to love him back.  
  
"What was up out there Van?" asked Irvine since he had been waiting for Van to get back so he could ask him about what he had seen. It disturbed him greatly to see the usually very skilled perform more like a beginner rather than like the person that beat the deathsaurer twice.  
  
"It's nothing. I just could concentrate," said Van while he turning away and started walking towards his room. He needed some time alone and he wasn't up to talking to anyone unless it was Fiona.  
  
'It has to be about Fiona,' Irvine told himself. He was suddenly pushed forward a little when someone accidentally ran into. He turned around and saw that it was Fiona. She appeared to be in a bit of a hurry. "You ok there Fiona?" he just had to ask.  
  
"I am fine. I am just going out for a while," she said trying to get by Irvine but he just blocked off her path to keep her from getting by. "Will you please move Irvine because I am in kind of a hurry," Fiona pleaded more than she asked the question. She was hoping to get away before anyone had any time to ask questions about what she was up to.  
  
Irvine looked at her kind of skeptically. She was hiding something from everyone, both physically and mentally. He was tempted to ask her about it but he knew that he wouldn't get a very clear response from her. Instead he just stepped out of the way letting her by hoping that she knew whatever it was that she was doing. She was almost away but he then spoke up. "Fiona, I think you really need to stop all of this and just talk to Van. You're actions are really hurting him," he spoke softly.  
  
Fiona stopped and cringed a little when Irvine mentioned Van's name. She had a plan but she knew that it could very well hurt him if things turned out wrong. It was the only way that she could think of though.  
  
She didn't respond to Irvine. All she merely did was walk away without once looking back at one of her best friends and someone that she looked up to like an older brother. She would have hesitated about going if she did so she just walked on.  
  
Fiona drove for a long time until she came upon her destination. It was the one place that she didn't want to be and yet at the same time was forced to come to. It was the place that Zack was waiting for her.  
  
Fiona got out of the car and saw that Zack was already standing there and waiting for her as if he knew that she would come on that second. She hated his guts. She saw him turn his head to look at her and smiled that disgusting smile of his. She felt utterly disgusted to just see that. She wanted him dead more than anything.  
  
"I just knew that you would come back to me and accept my proposal. It was that you knew I was right and had no other choice but to accept," he said starting directly onto his feet since he was leaning against a wall before she had come.  
  
He walked away expecting her to follow him. She remained still glaring at him with eyes that promised death if he tried anything. She was in no mood at that moment to have him try anything to him.  
  
Zack stopped when he noticed that she wasn't doing anything. He turned around and saw the glare of pure hatred that she was giving him. "Now, now. There is no need to look at your future husband like that. Now come. Leave behind your past and come with me into a glorious future that I have planned for us zoidians," he said smirking but he noticed that she refused to move and continued to glare at him.  
  
"No," Fiona said in a whisper that was almost impossible for anyone to hear. That was not what she had come to do. He had this obsession with her that has ruined her life since he first came into the picture. She was prepared to die if it meant that she might take him with her.  
  
"Excuse me?" he asked but he had heard her but just barely. He was sure that she would easily have come to him after his little proposal, but now here she was refusing to do, as he had wanted her to do.  
  
"You heard me correctly. I am not going to go with you to marry you. I would rather die than to do something like that and betray the ones that I care for the most," Fiona growled out remaining still. She had never known that she would be capable of doing something like this. It was usually Van that did the fighting to protect her but now she was going to fight to protect him.  
  
Zack only smirked which caused a confused look to come over Fiona's face. "Aren't you forgetting how I said I could kill all of you friends and loved ones?" he asked emphasizing the word loved to show his disgust that she loved someone that wasn't him.  
  
The confused look left Fiona's face and was replaced by a stern one. A hand reached behind her back for something that she had placed for just this occasion. Her hand came out to reveal a gun. "If you are dead then nothing can happen to them. Good thing you decided to wait here so that I knew you would come," she said emotionlessly. It wasn't in her nature to do something so drastic. She was always so kind but she would make sacrifices for the ones that she loved.  
  
When he had first seen the gun, Zack was scared. At that type of range it would be kind of hard to miss. He noticed something that caused him to smirk. He stood up straight and walked towards Fiona. "Go ahead and shoot if you can," he said standing a foot or two away from the gun.  
  
There was shaking in Fiona's hand, which made it hard to keep the gun straight. She was sure that he must have noticed that which gave him his confidence. She cursed her good nature now. It just wouldn't allow her to kill someone easily.  
  
"You just can't do it can you?" asked Zack grabbing the gun before she had a chance to do anything and pulled it so now he had the control over it rather than her. He now had her in his arms and she was struggling to get free. "Now, now Fiona. Just calm down and enjoy everything that I can give you," he whispered in her ear.  
  
"Fiona was appalled with being in his arms. Her response to his sentence was that she turned her head and spit into his face. "Go to hell," she growled out struggling even harder to get free from his grip.  
  
Zack's hand reached up to his face and wiped the spit from it. His anger had been building up with how much she was resisting him despite what he did to get her to come to him. He brought his hand up and slapped Fiona hard across the face sending her flying into a wall of the alley that they were in. He didn't mean to do that but he was getting too angry.  
  
Fiona was hurt but she refused to give up in her attempt to get rid of him. She wiped away the blood that was falling down her lip. She stood up and charged at him with her full fury. She grabbed the gun but he wouldn't let go. There was a struggle but his strength was prevailing. In a last ditch attempt, Fiona bit his arm, much to her disgust, but it did cause him to yell in pain and drop the gun.  
  
They both watched as the gun fell from both of their hands and onto the floor. Neither of them were prepared for what happened next. The gun fell and hit the floor but it caused it to go off. There was a sound of pain and then a body hit the floor.Van walked slowly to his room. Night had fallen long ago and he felt he needed some sleep to help get his mind off of Fiona. He hoped that it would get his mind off of her for at least a little while. He knew that it wouldn't really do him much good in the morning but at least during the night he could get away from his thoughts through his dreams.  
  
He had a strange feeling inside of him for a long time now and he just couldn't get it off of his mind. Irvine had told him about Fiona's strange behavior earlier in the day and that started it but it only seemed to get worse throughout the day when he started to get a strange feeling in his stomach as if something had happened. He wasn't sure if it was good or bad but he hoped that Fiona was all right.  
  
He could hear rain falling hard upon the roof of the base. He hoped that Fiona was already back and safe within the confines of the base. Even if he hadn't seen her, he had to have hope that she was all right despite the feeling that he was getting.  
  
He stopped when he saw someone in front of him. Van looked at the person and saw that it was Fiona. Her hair was disheveled and dripping from the rain but for some reason Van could tell that it was also from sweat. "Fiona?" he asked cautiously because he could tell that there was something very wrong with her.  
  
Fiona looked up when she heard her name being called. Her eyes seemed blank, like they held no life within them anymore. She looked at Van and into his emotion filled eyes. "Van?" she replied quietly with pain filling her voice. She took a step out of the shadows that had been covering her and she heard Van gasp. She could feel her consciousness fading and soon she fell forward and onto the floor as the pain overtook her.  
  
Van gasped and rushed forward and took her in his arms. He turned her over so she was on her back and looked upon a wound in the middle of her stomach. It appeared to be a bullet wound and that worried Van. He now knew what it was that he was feeling all throughout the day. "Fiona, Fiona, wake up," he pleaded. He had no wish to lose her. "Hang on, I will get you some help," said Van picking her up and rushing to get help.Zack walked into his base with an angered look on his face. Things had not gone at all like he wanted them to go. Fiona had been shot when the gun went off and he couldn't even get to her. He looked down at his hand to see the numerous burnt areas all around it he scowled when he remembered what happened.  
  
He had tried to pick her up to take her with him when she was shot but before he could even touch her, it was like an invisible shield was placed up around her that she controlled even when she was unconscious.  
  
Fiona was unlike anyone that he had ever met before, some of the things that she was able to do were unlike anything he had ever seen. That was what drew him to her and that was made him so insistent on taking her for himself.  
  
"I see you must have failed yet again," came the voice of Fiona's mother. He turned around and stared at her with his angry eyes. "She had better not have been harmed in any way," she spoke with a dangerous tone in her voice that made her sound like Fiona did earlier that day.  
  
"She was but it was an accident and she would not allow me to touch her even when she was unconscious. Just remember though that she no longer belongs to you and soon I will be the only one that she needs to worry about," he said angrily before storming past her.  
  
"You cannot win if you only motivation is your rage. It will only make you sloppy," she said but he didn't even bother to respond. "Just remember that she is not to be harmed again. She had better not die because of earlier," she said walking in the opposite direction. She may not like the way her daughter currently lived her life amongst the humans but she did love her and always would. 


	6. not again

Van sat silently and patiently besides Fiona's bedside waiting for any sort of news like if she would be ok or not. Fiona had been brought in and stitched up but even the doctors weren't completely sure if she would make it or not. That was what worried Van the most. Losing her to death would be worse than losing her if she was alive.  
  
The constant beeping of the machines was giving him hope that she would live but he feared that the beeping would suddenly stop and he would actually lose Fiona forever. She has become more to him than he ever thought. He just didn't know what he would do if she died.  
  
She had been in the hospital wing all night. She had yet to move and it also looked like she wasn't breathing but she was with very small breaths. Her skin was extremely pale and her hands felt like they had been on ice. Sometimes it seemed as if she was going to get better but then things might take a turn for the worse only to turn around again. This has happened several times, which only made Van even more worried.  
  
Van felt tired and wanted to go to sleep but he feared that if he did that something terrible would happen to Fiona. So he ended up just trying his best to stay awake for now and be by Fiona's side when she needed him.  
  
Rubbing his tired eyes, Van almost hardly noticed as one of the doctors entered the room. He only noticed the doctor when he stepped up to Van and stopped right in front of him before lightly shaking Van's shoulder.  
  
"Huh?" asked Van letting out a small yawn. He looked up and saw the doctor's serious face and had a gut feeling that he had nothing good to say. Although he didn't want to know, he found himself asking the one thing he tried to stop him from saying. "What is it?" he asked with another yawn.  
  
"We have some news on the woman's condition if you would like to hear it," said the doctor in a quiet yet solemn voice. He saw Van nod hesitantly. "You might want to come with me," he said pointing to the door.  
  
Now Van knew instinctively that he didn't have any good news to tell. He was scared yet followed the doctor's instructions. He stood up and slowly walked out of the room following after the doctor.  
  
The two of them seemed to walk for a minute or so until the doctor came to a stop by some windows. The hall was empty which was what Van guessed the doctor had in mind when he said he wanted to talk. "What is going to happen? Please tell me that she is going to live," Van spoke in a voice filled with grief.  
  
"That is one of the things that I just can't tell you as of yet. She is in a critical stage and I will be honest that she might not have much of a chance of living. Even if she does live then there is no guarantee that she will come out of her coma," he said while looking out the window. He hated giving bad news. "The bullet did some serious damage. Even if she survives and wakes up, the child won't. It didn't survive. I'm sorry," he continued sadly.  
  
Van was in shock. There was very little chance that Fiona could live and even less that she could wake up. The child was dead as well. Whether or not it was his child, Van felt that even it deserved to live and not die the way that it did. His anger was boiling up within him. 'Damn that bastard,' thought Van with his teeth clenched.  
  
Before another word could be spoken between. Sirens shot off all throughout the medical wing. 'Fiona!' thought Van turning and running down the halls as fast as he could to get back to her room. He just knew that it had to do with her. He was right too. When he got to her room he saw them wheeling her out of there.  
  
"Fiona!" yelled Van but several doctors blocked him off. "Let me go. I need to get to her!" he yelled while trying to squeeze through them but they refused to allow him to get through.  
  
"Please sir! You really need to calm down. She is hemorrhaging very badly and needs to get some immediately treatment!" the doctor that was trying to hold Van back said while struggling just to keep Van in place. All that Van could do then was watch helplessly as they wheeled the love of his life away from him with the chance he wouldn't see her again.  
  
The doctor finally let go of Van and started to move in the direction that they took Fiona in. Van followed closely but the doctor went into a room and the door shut blocking Van from getting in.  
  
All that Van could do now was watch through a small window as they did everything that they could to get Fiona stabilized. He watched with wide eyes when he heard the machine suddenly stopped beeping and flat lined. The pain in his heart expanded. He felt something slipping away from him and it wasn't only his heart.

* * *

Irvine quickly came into the hanger of the base and hopped out of the blade liger. He had recently left to pick something up but when he heard about what happened to Fiona, he immediately turned around and came straight back.  
  
Irvine ran as fast as he could down towards the halls to the medical wing. He came t a stop very quickly when he saw Van walking in his direction with his eyes focused towards the ground. 'I was sure that with happening to Fiona that Van would be by her side,' Irvine thought looking curiously at Van. Van almost walked right by before Irvine grabbed his shoulder. "Where are you going Van? Don't you need to be with Fiona now?" he asked seriously.  
  
"She's dead Irvine. They say she was hemorrhaging she died when they tried to help her," said Van in an eerily calm voice that sent shivers down everyone's spine. "That bastard shot her and left her alone for her to get here by herself," said Van and he noticed Irvine's eyes widen at this new revelation.  
  
Irvine's eyes widened when he heard that the girl he thought of as a sister was dead. Suddenly he realized what Van was doing. It was the exact same thing he did when he went crazy before and Irvine was willing to bet that it has once again happened. "You need to calm down Van. You can't go after him right now. We don't know where he is," said Irvine but was stopped when he felt a fist slam into his gut. "Not... again," he managed to sputter out before blacking out. His body fell motionless to the floor with a slight thud and Van just walked right past him.  
  
Last time something like this happened to Fiona. He could only feel the sorrow and pain that accompanied it. He didn't do anything for weeks and that took Fiona away from him. This time he knew he had to do something. Fiona was really dead and he sure as hell wouldn't allow that bastard to get away with it.  
  
Van immediately got into his blade liger without listening to anyone. His hardened eyes only focused on what was ahead of him. He had one target and one target only; to find Zack and kill him. He would do it for Fiona. To avenge all that she had given up for everyone.  
  
His cobalt eyes hardened dangerously with the hatred he was feeling for Zack. Something deep within him told him that he knew where it was that he had to go in order to find the bastard that hurt Fiona so badly. 'You will die!' Van screamed into his head.

* * *

The doctors had pretty much given up since they just couldn't revive Fiona. Moonbay was balling her eyes out. She had lost her best friend and her younger sister yet again. Something suddenly caught her eye. She looked and noticed that there seemed to be a light glow emanating off of Fiona.  
  
The doctors seemed to notice it as well. They seemed to back up a little looking kind of fearful. They had never seen anything like this before and weren't sure what to make out of it.  
  
What became shocking to all of them was when Fiona's eyes suddenly shot open. She screamed out one word at the top of her lungs. "VAN!" she screamed shocking everyone in the room because they thought that she was dead.  
  
Moonbay immediately raced into the room and stood right by. "Fiona calm down. Lay back down, you need to rest," said Moonbay to the frantic Fiona. She just couldn't keep Fiona still.  
  
Fiona suddenly calmed down and looked at Moonbay breathing heavily. "V-Van. You need to stop him Moonbay," she said with her breath coming out in short gasps. "Please Moonbay," she said in desperate.  
  
"You need to settle down Fiona. You just died. As happy as I am that you are alive, you really need to lie down and rest so that you can get better. Besides, Van is right..." she stopped when she turned around to point to where Van was only a few minutes ago. It was only then that she realized that he was nowhere in sight. 'That is odd,' she thought. She would have figured that Van would have been happy to stay alive.  
  
"Moonbay. Please go and stop him," she spoke softly with tears falling from her eyes. She had no idea how she could be alive either. She felt something dangerous though and knew that Van was in trouble. That was when she woke up from what was supposed to her deathbed. She was stopped from saying anything when Irvine walked into the room holding his stomach. "Irvine," said Fiona confused.  
  
Irvine looked up and smiled when he saw that Fiona was alive. "Good to see you alive Fiona. Van thought you were dead," he said with a smile before it turned into a frown. "We have a serious problem," he said with a grim look on his face. "Van has gone nuts. He plans to go after and kill Zack," he said grimacing taking a seat upon a chair in the room.  
  
Moonbay gasped because she realized that was what Fiona was talking about. "It is just like last time," she said quietly remembering when Fiona and Kristi were taken prisoner and Van went completely nuts and started to destroy everything.  
  
"No, there was something different. It seemed a little worse but a little more controlled. I just can't explain what it was that I saw in him," he said cringing when he touched his side.  
  
"Where did he go Fiona?" Moonbay asked hoping that they might be able to get to Van before he tried to take on Zack. Even she knew that Van couldn't win unless he was in a clearer state of mind. But with Van it was sometimes hard to tell.  
  
Before Fiona could answer them, the doctors were forced to push the two of them out of the room so they could do a few tests on Fiona. It was a few minutes later and Moonbay and Irvine just stayed there so that they could ask Fiona about Van's whereabouts.  
  
The doctors came out after a while and returned Fiona to her room with the two of them following close behind. "Now can you tell us anything Fiona?" asked Moonbay softly taking a seat next to the bed.  
  
"Last time I saw him, he was in the closest village to this base. He wanted me to marry him in return for your safety," she said and saw Moonbay and Irvine looking at her sadly. "I went there but I wasn't about to agree to him. I wanted to get rid of him before he could do anything but it went wrong and I got shot," she said not wanting to think about it. The doctors already told her the result of the incident and it saddened her because she would never know if it was Van's child or not.  
  
"Come on Irvine. We have to go find him before he does some serious damage. He was lucky to get off without too bad of a punishment last time. So we better stop him now!" Moonbay yelled grabbing Irvine and running to the door. Moonbay suddenly stopped right by the door. "By the, get some rest Fiona and I will bring him back for you," she spoke with a smile on her face before running away.  
  
Fiona just watched them leave. "Please do," she whispered. She was very worried for Van. She knew something about Zack that the rest of them didn't and that could very well cause Van to lose his life if they were to battle. 'Please bring Van back to me alive,' she pleaded while a tear slipped down her face. Her eyes felt heavy and soon they shut sending her to sleep hoping that when she woke up that Van would be there.

* * *

Zack had no idea why it was that he was there. It was as if he were waiting for Fiona to change her mind and come right back to him. 'I gave her a good enough reason as to why she should come back to me. She just needs time to accept that we were meant for each other. She is carrying my child, not Flyheights,' he thought with a smirk.  
  
A sound from behind him caught his attention. He smirked because he figured that it was Fiona coming back for him. "I knew that you would come. I hope you are feeling better Fiona," he said without turning around. With her injured, it wouldn't be hard for him to take her with him.  
  
"Hate to tell you this but Fiona isn't coming," came a very low, very dangerous voice that Zack knew as Vans. "Because of you, she is dead. She won't be coming back to anyone," Van said angrily.  
  
Zack was angry. He turned around to face Van and saw the look of pure hatred in his eyes. "How dare you!" he growled out. He refused to admit that it was his fault that Fiona was gone. "It is all your fault!" he said in an even lower tone of voice if it was possible.  
  
"Get over yourself and admit that it was your fault. You were the one that shot her and left her alone in her injured state. You are the one that started all this mess that eventually led to her death!" Van yelled his eyes darkening even more.  
  
Zack eyes suddenly softened as he straightened up with a smirk plastered onto his face. "You know Van, we really aren't all that different. We both want the same woman," he said staring at Van without anger or fear. "I love Fiona but you are getting in the way. You may think that you like her but you are wrong," said Zack with a smirk when suddenly the knife that belonged to Van's father soared through the air and hit the wall directly next to Zack's head. "You almost hit me!" he yelled with wide eyes.  
  
"Damnit, I missed," said Van with a growl. "You are very wrong with what you said. We are nothing alike. I love Fiona from the bottom of my heart. You only lust after her. If you really loved Fiona then you wouldn't put her through some of the things that you have. You have ruined both her life as well as my own. It is your fault that I will never again see her smile, hear her voice, or just be with her again. I have never hated anyone in my life more than I hate you now!" Van yelled charging straight at him but Zack moved to the side causing Van to punch a hole into the brick wall.  
  
Zack was completely stunned because he never realized that Van could have that much power. He hadn't even begun to show his own as of yet however. "You can't win against me Flyheight. Up until now I have only shown you a portion of the power that I actually possess. I don't usually need to use it but I think that I will make an exception just for you," he said before seemingly disappearing and reappearing right in front of Van before slamming his fist hard against Van's face.  
  
Van went flying back and hit the wall hard. Most would have probably given up at seeing just that small show of power but he kept going out of sheer force of will to avenge Fiona. He wouldn't give up even if it killed him.  
  
"Come on Van. You are the first person that I have ever shown this power to so at least put up a fight," he said with a smirk before kicking Van hard in the gut sending him right back to the ground and coughing up a bit of blood. He grabbed Van by the collar of his shirt and started to punch him senseless. "You are pathetic," he said looking at Van's already bloodied face. He spotted something and smirked. He dropped Van to the ground and walked over to the wall where Van's father's dagger was still in. "This ought to be interesting," Zack said pulling it out and walking towards Van. "Going to be killed by your own weapon. Very similar to Fiona when she thought she could stand up to me," he said with a smirk raising the knife up.  
  
A shot came out of nowhere. It missed Zack but it did skim his hand a little causing him to gasp a little and drop the dagger. "You won't do anything," came Irvine's voice pointing the gun towards Zack. He would have shot another bullet but Zack suddenly disappeared and never reappeared.  
  
Irvine lowered his gun and immediately ran to Van side. Van was hurt very badly and not just physically but mentally as well. "I couldn't do anything. I couldn't avenge Fiona or even protect her. She is gone now and I will never see her again," said Van weakly staring out into no specific place.  
  
"Van, Fiona isn't dead. It is true that she did die for a short amount of time but somehow she managed to come back to us. She is still alive Van," said Irvine hoping that Van would be happy to hear this.  
  
Van was quiet for a few seconds unable to take what he was hearing. Irvine held out a hand for him and Van took it before he was pulled to his feet and supported by Irvine. Moonbay came a few moments later and didn't seem to surprised to see Van the way that he was. "Take me to her Irvine," he said in a weak and tired voice.  
  
Irvine just nodded his head to Van and with a little help, Van managed to walk long enough to the gustav. The lightning saix and the blade liger were already on it. 'I really need to see her,' her thought taking a seat and closing his eyes to get a little sleep before he got back. 


	7. betrayal

Irvine and Moonbay sat in silence while the gustav moved slowly across the desert sand towards the base. Van sat in the back seat sleeping peacefully but with a troubled look upon his face. The bleeding from his wounds had stopped but his face was still rather filthy with blood and the bruises that were starting to form from all the punches he received.

"Kind of hard to believe," Irvine finally said breaking the silence that had been going on since the start of their short journey back to the base. He kept an eye forward and didn't bother to look at anyone while he spoke.

"What is?" asked Moonbay although she kind of had a feeling that she knew what Irvine was talking about. She took a quick moment to look behind her at the sleeping Van before turning her eyes back ahead of her.

"When I first met Van he seemed more interested in becoming a great zoid pilot than anything else. It was like he didn't depend on other too much but enjoyed the company. He has changed so much since then. He has become very dependant on Fiona more than anything," said Irvine releasing a small sigh while leaning back in his seat.

"I know what you mean. I can tell that he would be completely lost without her. Just looked at what happened earlier. He pretty much tried to commit suicide by going after Zack and I think that he knew that. If he killed Zack even if it took his own life, he would have been happy because he could be with Fiona," Moonbay replied feeling bad for him. Him and Fiona just couldn't be together no matter how much they wanted to be together.

"I wonder how happy they would have been if Zack had never come into the picture. Then again, as much as I hate to admit it, if he hadn't than those two would have been too dense to figure out each other's feelings," Irvine said although he felt like puking for think of Zack actually doing something good. Definitely something he didn't mean to do so Irvine took back the small credit.

"I wonder what will happen between the two of them now. It was very clear by the way that Fiona acted when she learned of what Van did that she still cares greatly and wants him to be safe. I think that if given the chance and the truth that she would go back to him in a heartbeat," Moonbay said watching while the base came up upon the horizon where Fiona was awaiting their return.

* * *

Zack stormed into his base with a scowl across his face. He was angry, he was confused, and he wanted answer more than anything. 'How is it possible for a human to have that much power?' he asked himself pondering this.

"You are in deep shit," came Rachael's voice causing Zack to spin around really quickly. He came face to face with the purple haired zoidian who had a triumphant smirk upon her face. "I heard what happened to Amber's daughter so I can tell that you are not going to get away with this," she said with a smile.

"What the hell are you smiling about? She isn't dead. Flyheight was blowing off a load of shit when he told me that. I would know better than him. It is only natural for zoidian mates to have a connection to each other and I can tell that Fiona isn't dead because I can't feel that she is dead," he said with a scowl on his face.

"You don't still believe that something actually happened between the two of you, do you?" she asked with an amused look on her face while she strolled towards Zack like a predator studying its prey.

"What the hell do you mean? I know what happened and I am sure that the Fiona and I are true soul mates because I can feel her at the core of my own being," he said with narrowed eyes while he watched her movements very intently while she continued to walk circles around him.

"Maybe it is just gas," she said with a slight laugh. "However, you are correct in the fact that the girl is alive. There is something I have been told to tell you though that the Madame has recently found out," she said with a smile getting close enough to whisper something in his ear.

Zack's eyes suddenly darkened and Rachael stepped back very quickly out of fear. He knew that he wouldn't like the news that she had given but she didn't expect that it would turn out like this.

"So my child is dead!" he growled out eyes narrowed very dangerously. "Now there isn't anything to keep her connected to me for now," he said nastily turning his eyes away from the purple haired zoidian.

Rachael felt the urge to slap her forehead in annoyance when she heard what he said. "That may be. However..." she said once again walking towards him and once again whispering something into his ear. She saw his eyes widen in fury. He reached for a sword that was nearby and before she knew it he had swung it at her.

* * *

Fiona's eyes slowly opened when she heard the sound of the door being opened to her hospital room. She weakly looked over to see Irvine and Moonbay walk into the room with blank looks on their faces. Fiona felt like cursing since she had no idea what they were thinking or if they were happy or sad. "Where's Van?" she asked in a worried tone as she feared for the worst.

"How are you feeling Fiona?" Moonbay asked ignoring her question on purpose but she was sure that Fiona noticed it. "Are you feeling any better?" she asked walking over and kneeling by Fiona's bed. She was stopped from saying any noise when she heard a sound of knocking from behind her. "I guess that we had better go," she said standing up and walking out of the door with Irvine following after her.

"Can I come in?" asked Van from the doorway with his head turned away from Fiona. He spoke with such a quiet and saddened tone that it was hard to tell what he had said but Fiona knew anyways.

"Yes," she said looking away as well but she heard his footsteps as he made his way towards her. When she heard him stop right by her bed she turned her head to look at him in the face. She gasped when she saw it. It may have been cleaned up but the bruises and cuts were still visible all over it.

Van knelt down before Fiona's bed and just stared at her with sad eyes. She was a sight to see. He had thought that he would never again be able to look into her eyes or hear her lovely voice ever again and that scared him worse than even dying. He guessed that was why he wasn't the least bit reluctant to go after Zack. Even if he died in the process he would have been happy to once again be reunited with Fiona. Yet, now she was right before him and still alive. He had never been so happy to see anyone in his life. All he wanted to do was hold her and never let go.

Fiona slowly reached out a hand and touched a small cut that on his cheek. She knew exactly what happened so she didn't bother on asking. Zack had a power hidden within him that made him the most dangerous person on the planet. She felt it in her skirmish with him, just like how she felt the death stingers power since there was so much of it.

Van placed his hand upon Fiona's. He felt the warmth of her hand and knew that she was real and that she was still there with him. This was the second time that had nearly lost her and he didn't want that to ever happen again. Her touch managed to sooth the stinging of his wounds. It was something that he knew that only she could manage to do.

It was almost as if no words needed to be spoken between the two. Like they knew what the other was feeling deep within each other's heart. They stared into each other's eyes and got lost with in them.

Before Fiona could realize what had happened. Cloud let go of her hand and pulled her into him with a tight embrace. Fiona didn't struggle any but wrapped her arms lightly around Van. Vans buried his head into Fiona's shoulder. Fiona could suddenly feel a wetness soaking her shoulder. 'He's crying?' she asked herself a little confused.

Van didn't know why he was crying. Then again whenever it came to terrible things that dealt with Fiona, he found he was doing things he wouldn't normally do. "I was so scared. I thought I had lost you. I didn't know what I was going to do," he said burying his face deeper into her shoulder and smelling the fragrance that he only knew as Fiona's. Something he had thought he had lost. He never wanted that to ever happen again.

"I'm right here Van," Fiona said feeling her own tears welling up within her eyes as well. "I'm right here," she repeated wrapping her arms around his neck. She hated herself everyday for when he was hurt like this but now she could see that he would be even more hurt than anything if he lost her like he almost did.

Van pulled his head off of her shoulder, His red eyes staring deep into Fiona's. Van felt kind of stupid for crying like this in front of her but he just couldn't help it. She had become his reason for living. The thing he knew that he wanted in his life more than anything. Before he could give her time to react, he quickly sealed their mouths together in a deep kiss. He put everything that he had into it. All the love that he could muster was put behind it.

Fiona didn't resist the kiss in the least. She longed for the feel of his lips ever since she broke things off with him. She just knew that she wouldn't be able to keep up the charade that she couldn't love him because she did. She wanted him back and wanted to be with him forever.

Van reluctantly broke the kiss with Fiona for a breath of much needed air. "I need you Fiona. I just can't think of a life without you," he whispered into her ear while he kept her wrapped up in a hug.

Fiona was stopped from responding when there was a bit of a commotion outside of her door. "What's going on?" Fiona asked watching as many doctors ran by but what surprised her was the person that was with them. "Van, I know that person. She was supposed to be working for Zack and my mother," Fiona said in a rather startled tone.

Van sighed knowing his time with Fiona had been ruined. "I will go check it out. Stay here and get some rest," he said looking at Fiona through worried eyes but despite his warning she tried to get up. "Fiona," said Van trying to get her to lie down.

"No I need to talk to her. I have some question and I really need to ask her about them," she said struggling against Van's grip. She knew he was reluctant but she was happy when he let go.

"Fine but I don't want you to be walking around Fiona. I will go find a wheelchair for you," he said in a quiet voice knowing that Fiona may just be able to get her answer if the woman managed to live. She looked like she was in pretty rough shape when they rolled her through there.

Van quickly left the room and a few minutes later returned pushing a wheelchair in front of him. With no help, Van lifted Fiona off of the bed and carefully placed her on the chair so that her wounds wouldn't open. He then wheeled it out of the room and in the direction that he had seen the doctors go.

The two came to a stop in front of the room that Fiona had been thought dead not too long before. The sight that they saw didn't help the matter too much. The woman was a complete mess. There was blood all over the front of her coming from the huge gash that went across her chest.

The two of them just stood there and watched as the doctors did the best that they could to keep her alive. After a few hours they finally stopped but the look on their faces weren't all that good. It was what Van and Fiona already knew. She probably wouldn't survive with such a deep wound across her chest.

The doctors left so that Van and Fiona could have a talk with the dying woman that was before them. Her eyes were opened but had a dull look to them like not all of her was there.

"Rachael was it?" asked Fiona causing the purple haired woman turn towards her weakly. Recognition crossed her face and she merely nodded in response to Fiona's question.

"I remember you. You are the one that Zack is so obsessed about," she said with a little cough. Her voice was raspy and quiet but the two of them were able to hear it. "I never actually thought he would do this to me," she said staring up at the ceiling.

"So I guessed right about him doing this. You obviously don't know him if you didn't know that he has no loyalties to anybody," said Van standing behind Fiona wheelchair.

"He was so obsessed with you Fiona. I got on my nerves at time because I actually liked him," she said shocking the two of them. "I didn't like it which was why I tended to interfere whenever I could. He thinks that something actually happened between the two of you, but he was wrong. After you fell unconscious, I managed to stop him but he is crazy, his mind actually made him believe that something happened between you two. Nothing did though," she admitted feeling relieved to get that off of her chest.

Fiona didn't know what to say. All that she had heard from him was a lie. The child that she was carrying was actually Van's but it died. Their child died and she put Van through so much pain because of a lie. She no longer seemed to have the ability to speak because of finding out the truth.

"I am guessing that was what happened to you. You told him the truth and he overreacted to it," assumed Van and he watched as she nodded her head. Van could here the beeping of the machines speeding up and he knew that her time was almost up. "Thank you for telling us. I am sorry that this had to happen to you," Van said quietly.

Rachael just smiled. She didn't know why but hearing something like that from him after all that she had done made her feel a little better. "Please put a stop to him before he does something that could possibly destroy this planet," she pleaded before her eyes suddenly closed and the beeping of the machine became a long screeching sound.

Van looked on sadly at the fallen woman. "Come on Fiona. Lets get you back to your room," Van said sadly and when he saw Fiona nod at a lack for words, he pushed her out of the room.

When they came back to the room, the two of them just remained silent trying to take in all that they had heard a few moments before. Fiona managed to be the first of the two to speak up. "Van, I am sorry. I put you through so much these past few weeks for nothing," she spoke silently staring at the end of the bed the she was once again lying on.

"You didn't know Fiona," Van replied sitting in a chair next to the bed. 'It had been my child after all. I don't even get to see it though. I might as well try to spend my time with what I have though,' thought Van making up his mind on something. "Fiona, lets get married. Right now with only our closest friends and family,' said Van startling Fiona with his sudden second proposal. "Lets do this before something separates us again," he said a little quieter.

Fiona was shocked beyond anything that she had ever been. Out of all the things that she thought she would hear from Van, that was not one of them. She didn't know what she should say.


	8. calm before the storm

Fiona had absolutely no idea on what she was going to say. She didn't have any idea how he could also just forgive her so easily after all that she had done to him. Her mind had no idea how to react but her heart was screaming yes to her.

Van stared at Fiona. There was hope pouring through his heart that she might accept it since she did once before. Everything had been cleared up concerning the child and it really was his. He wanted to spend the rest of his life with Fiona so he hoped beyond anything that she would actually accept.

"Van," Fiona finally managed to say after what felt like eternity in silence. Her voice was very shaken as a result of Van's sudden second proposal. "How can you just forgive me so easily after what I put you through so many time?" she asked staring at her hands clutching onto the bed sheet.

"Because I still love you despite all that has happened. You only did all that you did in order to protect my and our daughter. When I saw you and Zack working together when he had you under his control, my feelings for you only really increased. I knew that I had to have you back and get you away from him," Van spoke truthfully from every portion of his heart.

A tear fell from Fiona's face and landed on the bed sheet. His words just made her start crying. She felt a warm hand cup her cheek and with the thumb of the hand, it wiped away the tears that continued to fall. She looked into Van's face and eyes and before she knew it she lunged into him wrapping him up in a tight embrace before her lips came crashing into his.

Van was a little surprised at first but got into it very quickly and deepened the kiss. Both of the tongues clashed with each other in one of the most passionate kisses that the two of them had ever had. They only parted because of a desperate need for air but Van could clearly hear Fiona whimper at the lack of contact.

Van kept as close of contact as he could have with Fiona. He held her to his chest while his nose was buried into her hair taking in the scent of her fragrance. "Can I take that as a yes?" he asked with a small smile.

Fiona didn't feel like she needed to answer him but she did with a small nod of her head before wrapping her arms even tighter around Van never wanting to let go of him again. She had been without him for far too long that she was afraid that all of this was just a dream and that she would wake up alone.

Van was delighted with her wordless response. He just held her to him for a few moments placing light kisses all over her before he decided to speak. "I guess this means that we will have to start planning," he spoke softly with a small smile. "But first I think that you should regain your strength,' he said laying down with her before both fell asleep.

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me!" yelled Moonbay very happily upon hearing the news about what Van and Fiona were planning on doing. "You two are finally tying the knot," she said making a huge emphasis on the word finally.

Van just nodded his head. It was actually a week before that they decided on it but he wanted to give Fiona a little time in order to regain her strength before the decided to go through with it. They were both extremely glad that Zack didn't decide to pull anything in the last week. It had actually been very calm.

"Yeah, we are hoping to get it done soon before something else happens that will stop it," Van said earning an understanding nod from Moonbay because she knew exactly what he was talking about. "We have talked or sent letters to the few people that we actually want there already, we just need to talk to you and Irvine about it before we finally get married," said Van with a bright smile.

"You bet we'll be there," said Moonbay ecstatically. "I have been waiting for something like this for such a long time. It sure took you long enough though," Moonbay said causing a slightly nervous chuckle to be released from Van's throat.

Van's face suddenly turned kind of sad all of a sudden. "In a way I am kind of upset about the wedding we have planned. It will be so small that I doubt it would be the type of wedding that Fiona has always dreamed about," Van said looking towards the ground ashamed that he couldn't give Fiona her dream wedding.

"I highly doubt that Fiona will really care about how big or how small it will be Van. She has loved you for so long despite all that she has done. I think she will be extremely happy that it is just happening," Moonbay said trying to make Van feel a little better.

"I guess I see your point. However, I promise that when all this fighting with Zack is over for good that I will give Fiona another wedding that she could once only dream about," Van said with determination sparking within his eyes.

"I have no doubt that you will. I also have no doubt that you will also make Fiona the happiest person on Zi with or without that dream wedding of hers. When he is gone, then I know you will live happily. You two are going to probably end up having a very large family," Irvine said with a smirk sitting right next to Moonbay drinking some coffee.

"Lets focus on the present right now. Zack is still out there and I don't want to bring any more children into this world as long as he is alive. Just look what happened to Fiona and our unborn child," Van said seriously looking out a nearby window into the vast desert that was right outside of the base. 'It sure sounds tempting though,' he thought with a small smile.

* * *

Zack just sat there behind a desk with a look of hard concentration on his face. He had no idea why he hadn't done anything for a while. He wanted so desperately to get Fiona back, but he was just waiting there doing nothing while Van was out there with his woman.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" the voice of Fiona's mother asked as the door opened and she walked into the room. Her face was etched into one of a serious nature just like she always had. Zack was wondering if it was possible for her to have any other sort of look upon her face.

"Why don't you shut your trap?" Zack answered very rudely to the older woman. "I will do things when I am ready. Fiona will return to our side and Van Flyheight's family will see the last of its days. They were always too meddlesome. Took your friend's loyalty away from you and made her soft towards the humans. Now they took your own daughter. Not for long though," he said placing his chin into his fist.

"Do not take them too lightly. The power of the Flyheight family is stronger then you realize. If you want to win then you will have to plan things very carefully,' she spoke in a voice filled with wisdom.

"I already know that. He can't control anything though. I actually had to use my full strength to fight him last time and I serious beat the crap out of him. He will be dealt with soon and then his sister. The Flyheight family will soon cease to exist. Besides, I know of the perfect way to defeat them," he said with a malicious sneer on his face as the thought suddenly came to him out of nowhere.

It almost dawned on Amber immediately as to what the insane young man was thinking about. "You are insane. There is no way that you will be able to harness that sort of power. There is also no current location of the two of them," she said with urgency in her voice. Even she knew that he was going over his head this time. The thought of him with that sort of power even frightened her more than anything.

"I know. This world will be mine whether you like it or not. I am afraid to say that I won't need your help anymore though. Your usefulness has ended, goodbye," he said taking out a gun and pointing it at the woman before firing it with a resounding blast through the room.

* * *

A very familiar gustav came into the base entryway and the canopy of it opened and Moonbay jumped out of it. Following closely behind her was non other than Van's older sister Maria whom Van had requested Moonbay to bring immediately since their village was a decent distance away.

Van decided that he wanted to keep one thing from her though. That was the little fact of his child. He was aware that she was unaware of the fact that Fiona and him had a child up till now because he had not gotten the time to be able to tell her up till then. He knew she would be surprised about it though.

"Van!" Maria yelled happily upon seeing her younger brother come walking into the hanger bay. She noticed that Zeke was following behind him ass usually but what she failed to notice was the little sleeping person that was upon its back.

"Hey sis!" Van waved at her with his usual smile on his face. He walked up to her and stopped right in front of her and gave her a small hug before he took a step back. "Thanks for bringing her here Moonbay. It means a lot to me," Van said turning his attention to Moonbay.

"No problem but you know you owe me right?" Moonbay said in a joking matter as she leaned against the side of her gustav with a small smirk on her face. Moonbay then walked away leaving the two of them alone.

"Why is it that you brought me here Van. Your friends wasn't exactly giving me a whole lot of details about it," Maria said while her and Van started to walk down the halls in the direction of where Fiona was currently resting. Maria then heard a small feminine groan coming from behind her only to see Zeke. "You feeling ok Zeke? You aren't sounding too good," Maria pointed out with a small laugh.

A small head of blonde hair of a young girl with very tired eyes looked over Zeke's shoulder towards where Van and Maria were standing. Maria stared at her for a second before her face lit up. "How cute!" she said with an extremely kind smile. As she rushed to the girls side and picked her off Zeke's back. Kristi seemed to really like the attention that Maria was giving her. "What are you doing in a military base like this little one? Is she a orphan Van?" Maria asked turning towards Van.

Van just scratched the back of his neck a little nervously. "Not quite," he muttered but it was loud enough for Maria to hear very easily. He saw Maria turn away putting all of her attention back on the kid.

"Then where are you're..." she said before she suddenly noticed something that made her gasp. Not only did this girl bare a strong resemblance to Fiona but the marking on her face was the exact same as their family markings. The little girl suddenly jumped out of Maria's arms. "Why does she have our markings Van?" Maria asked but one thought suddenly jumped into her head and she turned to look at Van.

Kristi ran to Van and he scooped her up into his arms and placed her up onto his shoulder where her chin rested upon the top of his head. "What is so surprising about it? She is family after all," Van said with a grin that was mirrored almost exactly by the little girl on his shoulders.

Maria's eyes widened as full realization dawned upon her. "You mean that she's your?" Maria said but she felt like she wasn't able to finish her sentence out of shock out of the realization of the truth.

"Yep, I would like you to meet my daughter, Kristi," Van said pointing to the top of his head where Kristi was smiling at her aunt in a very van like smile easily showing the resemblance between the two of them even if she did look like her mother.

Maria was putting several things together in her head. The child was Van but the appearance of the child wasn't that of Van's but more like... "Does that mean that the mother of the child is?" Maria asked hoping at least that that was the truth about the mother.

"Yep, it's Fiona. Which brings me to the point of why I brought you here. Fiona and I are getting married soon and I wanted to have you here. Sadly enough, we couldn't get married before this one was born because of circumstances that were beyond out control. I didn't even know that I had a child until a few months ago," Van said sadly.

Maria looked at Van sympathetically. The girl is very cute; she looks just like her mother. I am glad that the two of you were able to get together. I knew it would happen sooner or later anyways. At least it was sooner rather than later," she said with a smile.

This is going to be a very small wedding though. There is too much at risk by having a large one now. Someone is after Fiona and we wanted to get married before he could do anything else that could harm Fiona in any possible way," Van said staring in front of him with serious and saddened eyes at the remembrance of all that he had done so far to ruin the happiness that they were trying to build. "By the way, grandma is here also," van said just remembering that fact.

"Oh really? I would definitely like to see her as soon as possible. I haven't talked to her for a while," Maria said realizing that Van was also trying to change the subject by brining that up. It made her curious as to what it was that happened to the two of them since she last saw them but she knew not to pursue it too far. "Now where is the lucky bride?" Maria asked brightening up instantly.

* * *

Van took a seat at the side of Fiona's bed. They were finally given a little bit of peace after Maria and Van's grandmother had stopped fussing over all that they had planned for the wedding and decided to go and rest. He saw this as a great opportunity to be able to have a little alone time with Fiona and he intended to use it because he didn't know how much of that he would be able to have within the next few days.

Van took Fiona's hand lightly into his hand caressing it and laying a few kisses onto the back of it. She just smiled and leaned her head onto his shoulder with a true smile on her face. It was one that she hadn't been able to use with all that had been happening and the pain that they had been continually put through.

"Tomorrow Fiona. Tomorrow we will be married and finally be able to start the life we had hoped for. That is as soon as we are able to defeat Zack and put a stop to all the pain that he has caused this planet," Van said kissing the top of her head as she gave a silent agreement to him.

"What do you think it will be like Van? I mean when we will be able to finally live our lives in peace and raise a family?" Fiona asked keeping her eyes closed as she felt the comforting feeling of Van's breath upon her neck. She closed her eyes and listened to the beating of Van's heart in his chest with contentment.

"We will have as many kids as you wants. I will always be there because after Zack is finally gone I won't work full time for the guardian force like I planned and we will live a peaceful life away from all the problems of this world," Van said wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her closer to him.

"It sounds nice. I can't wait for it to actually happen. Without Zack we will live peacefully without any worries in the world. I know that it will be soon that all of this will come true. I know we will win soon enough," Fiona said in a dreamy voice as she finally drifted off to sleep within Van's arms.

'Just you wait, everything that you could only once dream about will come true. I will make sure of it. This will all end soon and we'll finally live happily,' Van thought in his head as he watched Fiona lean with her head on his shoulder in a peaceful sleep that he knew she deserved more than anyone.

* * *

Zack paced around his office with an overconfident smirk on his face as he thought about all that he had ready for his rise to power. Soon enough he would be ruler of the world and all would bow to his feet.

"Yes, soon enough all of my plans will finally come together. I will be rid of Flyheight; Fiona will be in my arms instead of his. I will also finally rule the world with Fiona as my queen. It will be soon that my dreams will finally come true," Zack with a malicious laughter. "Now that the annoying woman is finally out of my hair, I will do things the way it is meant to be done," he said with a smirk.

He stood up from his desk and walked out of the room. He didn't know what happened to the old woman because she suddenly disappeared but he knew that he would no longer have to listen to any of the orders that she gave to him. He would do things the way he felt like and not by the ways that someone else wanted him to do.

His plans were already laid out. He chuckled as he thought of what he knew would be the end result. 'Nothing will stand in my way. You days are numbered Flyheight. Yes, the countdown is on.'


	9. prophesy

Kristi let out a childish giggle from her mouth as she watched her mother constantly pacing through the room. She just watched as Fiona mumbled things to herself and paced back and forth.

Moonbay walked into the room a few moments later and stared at Fiona doing the same thing that Kristi had been watching for the past few minutes. She looked towards Kristi asking the child for some sort of explanation as to why Fiona was acting the way that she was.

"Mommy said she was having a breakdown," the child said happily before breaking out into another fit of giggles and she started to bounce around the room doing her own little dance.

"She is not kidding Moonbay, I think I really am going to have a breakdown," Fiona said finally stopping her pacing but it didn't stop the butterflies that were flying around in her stomach. "I am so nervous," Fiona said taking a seat in a nearby chair and placing her head within her hands.

Moonbay just shook her head in amusement as she walked over and took a seat next to Fiona. "Are you having any doubts about getting married to Van? Because if you are then maybe now isn't the time for this. Then again, I think that Zack would be more determined to make sure that the two of you don't attempt to get married again," Moonbay said and she saw Fiona shiver at the mere thought of Zack and what he was capable of.

"It's not that I don't want to, I am just very nervous. I definitely want to get married to him but I am afraid of what will happen after if he was ever to find out. Zack was bad enough before but if he learns that me and Van got married, then I don't know what he would do," Fiona said shaking a little at all the thoughts of some of the things that she was sure that Zack would be able to do. Each one was becoming worse than the previous one.

"Forget about him Fiona. Today is not about him but about you and Van. We will worry about him later but right now let's just focus on getting this long delayed wedding over with. You two went through enough, right now lets just focus on the moment," Moonbay said and she saw by the look that was one Fiona's face that she felt a lot better than she did a few moments before.

"Thank you Moonbay, I just have to stop worrying about everything," Fiona said letting off a sigh of relief before she stood up. She now felt like she was ready to go out there and do the one thing that her and Van should have done a long time ago.

"That's the spirit Fiona," Moonbay said with a bright smile. It was only then that she noticed what it was that Fiona was wearing. It wasn't anything extravagant like most wedding dresses are, but it was just a simple white dress that clung to every curve of her body. The bottom of it only went down to her knees. Although it was very simple in design, it looked very beautiful when it was worn on Fiona.

The two decided to not go overboard which was the reason for Fiona's dress but Moonbay knew that they would be happy getting married in rags if it would mean that they would finally be able to be together.

"Come on Fiona. It is about time that we got started," Moonbay said giving Fiona a small smile before she left the room leaving Fiona with only the hyper kid for company. The little girl was still bouncing off the wall like she had been since she was told what a marriage was. She was too happy that they would be a true family.

* * *

Zack walked through the desert with a determined look on his face. There was a sandstorm blowing all around him but he didn't seem the least bit affected by it. He had a destination in his mind and he intended to get there as soon as possible. He would have gone in a zoid but it was a place that was unreachable by zoids.

The sand storm finally started to clear up and he could see further away where a small hut sat in the middle of the eye of the storm. It wasn't affected by the storm because the owner created the storm as a test for the one that wishes to get in contact with her.

He walked through the door of the hut and his nostrils were immediately assaulted by the smells of many different herbs that were found in jars all over the small hut. He waved a hand in front of his face to rid the smell away from him and walked further into it where an old woman sat within the middle of the room.

"I see that you have decided to come back," the old woman said as a large snake slithered around her. He amber eyes held an eerie feel to them but it didn't affect Zack in the least. "It is dangerous what you continue to do with my help. Messing with the flow of time is dangerous," she said looking at him with a neutral expression on her face.

"I don't care. I am sure that you have seen that. Why exactly is it that I can't seem to keep the two of them apart. Why is it that no matter what I do they always seem to get back together?" Zack asked angrily with a dangerous glare within his eyes promising something bad if she didn't answer him.

"The two of them are linked by fate. They were destined for one another. No matter how you try to change the timeline to put things in your favor, it will continue to works its way back to how it was originally supposed to be. You put fear in the young girl's heart so that she would run all those years ago. That is where it all started, that is where you began to change the future," she said in a monotonous voice as she just stared off into space while pouring some sort of powder into the fire in front of her which caused the flames to increase before receding back to their original state.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me about what was to happen that night? Why did you allow that monstrosity of a child come into this world?" he yelled growing angry that she wasn't giving him any of the answer that he needed to hear.

"It was an event that was unstoppable. No matter how hard you wished to change time so that you would get what you wanted, that event could never be changed no matter how much you tried," she said as the snake curled up.

"You lie! The two of them are not linked by destiny! Fiona rightfully belongs to me like it was supposed to be thousands of years ago!" he yelled feeling like shooting the woman that was sitting before him with that placid look upon her face as if she didn't even worry about what he could do to her.

"Their destinies are still unfolding. There are things that have yet to happen that not even my eyes can see. I should probably warn you however. You should beware of the half blooded zoidian. It holds your destiny within its hands. I foresee your death by its hands," she said in the same calm tone that she had since he first entered.

"How the hell is it that a little girl like that can possibly hold my fate with her tiny hands?" Zack asked with a smirk thinking that it was a ridiculous thing that the old woman was saying. "There is none that can possibly defeat me!" he said with a proud smirk think that he was immortal.

"I also see that you are seeking powers that are far beyond even your understanding. You should beware. This power is linked too closely to the human race that it could also pose as a great threat to your existence. The end of time is nearing. The two are soon to be joined together in a bond that you will never break," she said solemnly.

Zack's eyes widened, as if he understood what it was that the old woman was talking about. Without another word, he bolted out of the small hut without another glance and ran into the sand storm and towards the one that he wanted most.

* * *

Fiona found herself walking down the small aisle with her closest family and friends watching. She was so scared, yet at the same time she was so happy. In only a few minutes she would be married to Van. She swore to herself that she would make up for all the pain that she had caused him and allow them both to be happy.

She looked ahead and saw Van standing at the very end of the aisle with Irvine to his left and Moonbay on the other side waiting for her to come down as well. There was a pleased smile on her face.

She looked around and saw those that were closest to them. Maria and the grandmother were crying their eyes out and the wedding wasn't even over yet. Kristi was bouncing around in her seat like a kid who was given one too many sweets. Fiona couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. These were her soon to be family and she was happy for this.

There was also Crougar who watched everything with a smile on his face. Thomas and Ashley were there as well. Fiona was glad that Thomas had found someone that he could fall in love with. At least it meant that he would leave her alone from now on. Ashley sure seemed to like the idea since she was clutching onto Thomas's arm tightly. They had also invited Karl but he was too busy and Raven and Reese didn't want to be bothered. Rudolph was also too busy to come as well.

It was a small crowd but she was happy since it was those that were closest to them. She didn't care if it was small or large, as long as the man that was waiting for her at the end of the aisle was the same person that she had always seen herself married to in her dreams.

When she reached the end of the aisle, her nerves were pretty shook up but she was happier than she had ever been in her life. She stood next to Van with a smile on her face. She felt him grab her hand and gave it a light squeeze which she returned with just as much pressure.

They just stood there and listened as the priest continued to speak his words and neither of them said a word. Probably the only sound that was in the room was the sniffling coming from Van's grandmother. She was really proud of Van for finding the perfect person to be his wife.

"do you Fiona Alisi Lynette, take Van Flyheight to be your husband, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health for as long as you both shall live?" the priest asked turning his attention to Fiona.

Fiona suddenly found it hard to speak Her nerves were really on end like she expected Zack to show up all of a sudden and ruin the day she had been dreaming of for so many years. Somehow she found it again. "I do," she said with a beautiful smile adorning her face.

The priest then turned his attention to Van and repeated what he said to Van. Van had no hesitation in his voice. "I do," he said calmly with a smile that matched Fiona's in intensity. They looked at each other and smiled a true smile.

"I pronounce you husband and wife, you may kiss the bride," the priest said and neither needed to be told twice as Van turned to Fiona and immediately kissed her upon the lips with a kiss of so much passion that it knocked the air out of Fiona's lungs just by the mere touch of his lips.

* * *

"So Van, when is it that you are planning on going on your honeymoon?" Irvine asked with a suggestive smirk that caused both Van and Fiona to blush slightly because they knew what it was that Irvine was getting at. They were out of the church and everyone was just talking to one another.

Van managed to regain his composure and put a smile on his face as he squeezed Fiona's hand. "We don't plan on doing that until after Zack is dead. There is too much at risk if we to just take some time off right now in order to go on a honeymoon," Van said with a serious face.

"I get what you mean Van and I agree with you on that. You will be able to have a lot more fun there if you know that he won't interfere with any of it. You guys have fun tonight. You may not be having a honeymoon but it is still your wedding night," he said with a laugh as he walked away from the newlyweds.

Van just shook his head with a slight blush on his face. 'He does have a point though,' Van thought with a smirk as he looked towards Fiona to see that she was just dreamily staring off into space. It looked like she was about to fall asleep. "Don't fall asleep now Fiona. We have the whole night ahead of us," Van said and laughed when Fiona blushed and playfully smacked him in the arm.

Maria and Van's grandmother came walking up to the two of them with a smile on their face. "Congratulations you two. I always knew that you two would end up together at some point," Maria said with a smile as she hugged her brother and her new sister-in-law. "Sorry to say this though but I really should get going. There are a lot of things that I need to take care of," she said with a sad smile.

"It's ok Maria, we understand. Actually there is something that the two of us wish to ask of you. If it isn't too much trouble, do you think that you can take Kristi with you? There is bound to be some intense fight to come up and I don't think she will be safe staying at a military base anymore," Fiona said sadly looking at her daughter who was chasing after Zeke.

"Of course I will Fiona. I know you are only looking out for your daughters wellbeing and I will guard her with my life if I have to," Maria said with a final hug to van and Fiona before she walked over to Kristi to tell her what her parents wanted her to do.

When Kristi heard the news she immediately came running over to her parents and latched herself to their legs. She was shaking slightly. "I want to stay with you!" she cried a little and held onto their legs tighter.

Fiona and Van knelt down to her level and Fiona placed her hand up her daughters shoulder. I know that you do sweetie. It is unsafe to do that though. You will be safe there and there is also a lot of other kids your age for you to play with," Fiona said in as soft of a voice that she could manage.

"Your mother is right. We don't wish to see anything happen to you. You and too precious to the both of us and we want to make sure that you will always be safe. I promise you that it won't be long before all of this is over. Then we will come and get you and be one big happy family," Van said with a smile.

Kristi looked up at her parents with light tears running down her face. "You promise?" she asked using the puppy dog face. Van and Fiona could only guess that it was probably Moonbay who had taught her that.

"Of course we promise. By the way, I have a little present for you. It was given to me by my mother when I was still just a baby. I want you to have it though," van said walking over to Moonbay's gustav and pulling something out of it. He walked back over and handed Kristi a teddy bear. "I don't know why I kept it for so long but I want you to have it," Van said as he handed it to his daughter.

Kristi stared at it with a smile for a second before she snatched it out of Van's hands making her parents laugh. She clutched it tightly to herself and looked up at her parents. "I'll miss you," she said and hugged both Fiona and Van before they led her towards a gustav.

"Please take care of her. I don't know what I would do if I was to lose her," Fiona said and she too looked like she was on the verge of tears like her daughter had been a few moments before.

Don't worry. I promise that I will take care of her from anything. Goodbye Van, goodbye Fiona," Maria said hugging them once again before taking a hold of Kristi hand and lightly pulling the slightly reluctant girl into the gustav as she stared back at her parents with tears in her eyes. She saw them wave sadly to her as the canopy closed and the gustav started to drive away.

* * *

Zack stood at the top of a cliff that overlooked the town that Van and Fiona were just married within. His eyes held darkness far greater than that of what he had before. He watched as several different transport zoids and regular zoids went off in several different directions.

"So they think that they can get away with this huh?" he asked as he stared ahead of him. "I will show them what happens when they decide to cross me. First I think I better send them a few messages," he said with a smirk before turning around and he walked towards his zoid.


	10. into darkness

A lone gustav drove through the desert sands driving towards the east. It had only one passenger. It was an elderly woman who had a look like she finally got to see her life long dream come true.

She had always wanted to live long enough to see one of her grandchildren get married and live even longer to see great-grandchildren. She got to see both of those within the past few days. She now had an adorable great-granddaughter, and a lovely new addition to her family since Van and Fiona had gotten married.

She knew very well that Fiona was just the type of person that Van needed in his life. The two of them went together better than anyone she had ever seen before. Each complemented the others abilities. They made two halves of a whole.

The way that Van and Fiona loved each other reminded her of her own daughter. She too was too deeply in love with the man of her dreams. Dan was to her what Van was to Fiona. It would be impossible to keep the two of them apart for too long. They each had such a great love for their children as well.

'Children,' she thought with a sigh as she laid back within the seat of the gustav while still watching the area ahead of her for any sort of sign of danger. She once believed that it would be impossible to have a child of her own. Then came Van's mother Lily into her life. There were secrets sounding Van's mother. One's that she was sure Van never learned of since he never knew his mother and his father had always planned to keep it from him.

There were also secrets surrounding Van's own birth that she was determined to keep from him. That secret was the reason that he didn't have a mother all of his life. That secret is what is keeping him from realizing a major part of himself that he didn't know about.

Mary came to a quick stop when she realized that there was a zoid standing right in her path. There was no way for her to get around it because she was driving through a narrow canyon. "Can you please move?" she asked but it didn't.

The zoid didn't move and instead, the pilot of the zoid was seen hopping out of it. The annoyed Mary and she opened up the cockpit and stepped out so that she could yell at him if he didn't decide to move. There were some important things that she needed to do and with him in her way then she wouldn't be able to do them. "Hey! Why won't you move?" She asked when he didn't even turn around.

"You may not be connected to what the Flyheight family has done in the past but you are still useful. I should warn you though. He is on the rampage right now. Planning to hunt those that were involved in his loss," the stranger said. A light wind picked up and blew his unique silver hair off the side a bit. He never once turned to face towards her but instead stared off into the horizon.

Mary looked into the direction that the man was looking only to seeing the setting sun in the distance. She looked back and was surprised when the man that was standing there a few moments before had vanished completely with his zoid. She rubbed her eyes before she walked towards the gustav. 'It must have been my imagination. Why would he be here anyways?' she asked herself before getting in the gustav and driving away.

She drove on forgetting about the small incident from before. The night had long since came and she was driving in the complete darkness lit only by the small light of the two moons within the sky.

She came to a stop once again when her gustav was shaken seriously. It she tried to go faster but the shots kept up with her and next thing that she knew, the gustav was flipped onto its side and she flew out of the cockpit when the canopy flew open.

She groaned when she got up. 'This old body of mine is not meant for such things,' she thought holding her arm because she was pretty sure that it was broken. She was happy that the gunfire stopped since she was unable to hear any noises.

"You shouldn't have interfered old lady!" a voice yelled off to the side and noticed a young man with cold violet eyes and medium length black hair that fell loosely around him. She didn't have to be told to know who the man that was standing before her was. "So you are the Zack I have heard so much about. Stay the hell away from my family," she growled out at the man.

Zack just laughed at the woman. "What exactly are you going to do if I do something? You are old, and weak. So I don't think that you have any power to stop me from taking Fiona back from that worthless grandson of yours if he could even be called that by someone like you," he said with a smirk on his face and a gun in his hand.

Mary noticed the gun in his hand, yet she wasn't the least bit afraid. "So what do you plan to do, kill me?" she asked and received a nod from the man. "Go right ahead, I have lived a full life and I will have no regrets about dying now. Van won't let you get away with it though," she said with a smile.

Zack snarled at her comment. He hated it when they did this to him. When they weren't afraid of what he could do to them. "Shut the hell up old woman! I am the one in charge here," he said lifting the gun up towards the elderly woman. "Don't worry though, the rest of your family will be joining you soon. The Flyheight family will end now," he said pulling the trigger. He smiled when he heard the thump of her body hitting the ground. He turned around then and walked away with a smirk on his face, already knowing his next target.

* * *

Van just laid there in their hotel room with Fiona curled up by his side sleeping peacefully. After all of their activities that night, he thought he would be tired like Fiona but he just couldn't seem to get to sleep no matter how much he wanted to. He just had this bad feeling that something had happened and his bad feeling were usually right.

"Go to sleep Van," Fiona mumbled tiredly. She tightened her grip around his waist so that he wouldn't be able to go anywhere right then and would have to stay right by her side.

Van also tightened his embrace around her but it didn't stop his thoughts from wondering. He was finally married to Fiona. He was the happiest he had ever been in his life. Just as much, if not more than when he found out he was a father to such a wonderful little girl.

Van pushed all of his thoughts off to the side for that moment and closed his eyes in an attempt to join Fiona in sleep. He was lucky because he slowly found himself drifting off and soon was fast asleep with Fiona right by him.

* * *

No matter where he went, Van seemed to find himself being given looks of sympathy from everyone around him. Him and Fiona were back from the wedding night and ready to go after Zack but Van was more curious about what was going on.

"hey Irvine, why is everyone looking at me funny and giving me these weird looks whenever I pass them?" Van asked with a small smile on his face. He then saw that Irvine's look was similar to everyone else's. "What's happened Irvine?" Van asked having a bad feeling like the night before.

"Something has happened. Van it is hard for me to tell you this but…" he said taking a breath as if it were hard for him to say what he had to, which it was. "You're grandmother is dead Van. She was attacked by Zack on her way home," Irvine said to the shocked Van holding out a note that was left behind.

'No!' Van thought. 'I just saw her yesterday, she can't just be dead,' Van told himself refusing to face the truth of the matter. He reached out a shaking hand for the note and looked it over. 'This is only the start. All that are involved will suffer the same fate,' he read and his eyes widened.

"Van," Fiona said next to him in a worried and saddened voice because she knew exactly what it meant. He was planning to target anyone that was at their wedding to make him suffer for taking Fiona away from him.

Van knew that all but two were safe because they were in a military base but Maria and Kristi weren't they were wide open for an attack at any moment. "We have to go Fiona! We need to hurry!" Van yelled grabbing her hand before heading back to the hanger that they had just come out of.

They both hopped into the blade liger quickly and took off without a word to anyone. The same thought was on both of their minds. It was a hope. 'Please be ok by the time we get there. No one there can handle someone like him!'

* * *

Maria was staring to wonder how Van and Fiona could handle Kristi. The child was a handful and she was only looking after her. She was glad that most of the rest of the village was giving her the help that she needed when she needed it.

Currently she was sitting in a chair resting after Kristi had lain down for the night. Kristi seemed to make friends so easily with the other kids of the village. That made it worse because sometimes she was looking after more than one child at a time because of this. She was happy though.

A knock was heard on the door to her childhood home. She tiredly stood up from her chair and walked to the door. Opening it up, she came face to face with an elderly looking woman. She looked a little like Fiona except that she looked much older than her.

"Hello," Maria said monotonously since she knew who it was that was standing in front of her. Her time with Fiona was spent mainly talking and Fiona's mother was one of the conversations that came up. Maria immediately didn't like the woman that was standing before her.

"I take it that by the way you are talking you know who I am," Fiona's mother said without even a smile. She merely saw a small nod from Maria. "I guess that that will make things easier. Whether you believe me or not, I am not here to do any harm. For once, I am actually trying to help your family.

If Maria didn't know better, she would have said that the woman before her almost sounded sincere when she was saying that. "What is it that you can possibly do to help us after all the harm you have tried to do?" she asked at least willing to listen.

Amber knew that things wouldn't be easy if she tried to talk to them. She knew what she had to say was important. "I have come to warn you that Zack is after your family. He has no loyalties to anyone, he even turned on me. As much as I hate how my daughter is now married to a human, I would rather not see Zack win after what he did," she said speaking as sincerely as she could.

"Why is it that you hate humans or more precisely my family so much? What have we ever done to you?" Maria asked trying to find some information to know if she can trust what the woman before her said.

"You want me to be truthful?" Amber asked and received a nod from Maria. "It is your families fault that I lost my daughter, it is your families fault that the rest of my family turned against me, it is your families fault that I lost my best friend. I am only helping you after all of that because I love this planet. I want to regain it for the zoidian race, Zack is trying to conquer it for himself and turn everyone into slaves," she said looking towards the ground.

Maria sighed knowing that the woman was being truthful in her words. She moved out of the way of the door and reluctantly let the woman into her home. "Come in, there is something that I think you need to know," Maria said walking towards a table with Amber following after her.

The two of them were silent for a while before Maria finally decided to speak up. "From what I heard, our family never intended to do that to your family and friends. We only did it because we knew your race was dying out. We were friends with many of them and didn't want to see them die. My father told me this when I was young, just like how he was told by his father. We knew we would have numerous zoidian enemies because of that," Maria said trying to remember everything that her father had told her before he died.

"I fear that I have only realized that too late because I know that my end is near. I want to make up for what I have done though. I need to warn you that Zack is already on his way here. He is hunting both you and my grandchild," Amber said but was stopped from talking when Kristi walked into the room holding the bear her father gave her.

"Go back to sleep Kristi," Maria said but Amber got up and walked towards the girl kneeling down before her. "That would be Fiona's daughter, your grandchild," Maria said feeling like she could actually trust the woman now.

Amber stared at the girl with inquisitive eyes. It made Kristi kind of nervous by the way she was looking at her. 'This child looks to have great potential in her as a zoidian. Not enough to beat Zack though. Why would he be afraid of this half-breed then?' Amber asked herself but there was a look in the child's eye that she couldn't place.

Amber was jumped from his thoughts when she heard explosions close to the house and a familiar presence in the air. "We need to get this child out of here," she said quickly but it was too late when the house was hit and it went up in flames.

* * *

The blade liger was approaching the wind colony very quickly. The two occupants didn't have any time to lose because they knew Van's home village was in great danger.

It came up to a hill where they knew that the wind colony was on the other side of. Night had long since fallen but they could see lights in the distance and went faster if it was even possible.

They reached the top of the hill and the blade liger came to a stop. Both Van and Fiona were scared out of their mind when they saw the entire wind colony up in flames. They couldn't see a single person in the distance trying to get out of it and that made them feel worse.

The blade liger ran full speed until it came into the village and both Van and Fiona jumped out of it and ran around looking for any survivors. There were so many bodies littering the ground.

"Is anyone here?" Van yelled out hoping for a reply. It was so late at night however that he knew that everyone was asleep during the attack. Van yelled even louder as he raced towards his home. "Hello! Is there any survivors?" Van yelled but still received no reply as he came upon more and more corpses. All of them were people that Van had known all of his life.

They came upon Van's place only to see it in the same shape as the rest of the village. Ignoring the fire, Van rushed into his old home. "Maria! Kristi! Are either of you here?" Van yelled having a growing panic in him more and more by the second. He could already here Fiona crying and he was on the verge of it as well.

Van saw something and kneeled down picking it out of the burning rubble. It was what was left of the bear that he had given to Kristi before he left. He looked around more frantically hoping that she had only dropped it. His eyes then laid upon a corpse laying amongst the debris of his home. It was one of an adult, 'Maria!' van thought collapsing to his knees knowing that he had just lost the last of his family.

"No, no, no, no, no, no!" Fiona chanted out upon seeing the same thing that Van saw. 'Our daughter, Maria, Van's grandmother, the entire village, everyone is gone!' Fiona thought frantically before she passed out from the shock of seeing it all.


	11. destiny approaches

Fiona's eyes slowly opened to see that she was sleeping in nothing but a small shack that looked to be pretty damaged. She just stared up at the ceiling of it like a zombie. Too sad and depressed to do anything but lay there.

She could still remember it all, the sight of the bodies, that of Maria's mangled corpse, that of the villagers. Her daughter was dead now. She was the one person in the world that she loved just as much as Van because it was their child, one made of their love for each other.

A tear slipped down her eyes followed by several more. As sad as she was for all of this, she knew that it would be nothing compared to Van's. He had just lost the last of his family. She may have been his wife but they were the only one related by blood to him and now they were gone.

Fiona stood up planning to go find Van to give him some comfort and take some of her own. She was so mentally weak right then as well as physically. She felt herself stumbled a bit on her tired legs but caught herself on the burned walls. She stumbled over towards the door and walked out of it to see the charred remains of the village. She noticed the lack of dead bodies and wondered what happened.

She stumbled along, her red eyes dull and filled with tears. 'An entire village massacred in one night. No one here deserved anything like this,' Fiona thought remembering back to her encounters with the nice people. They made her feel welcomed here when she had nothing, yet now her existence was the cause of their death. It was all because of an obsession towards her that couldn't be fulfilled.

She walked towards the edge of the village clutching the blanket to her with all her might. It was so warm outside yet she felt so cold inside. Her daughter and Van could cheer that up but Van was very sad and their daughter was no longer there to comfort her in this state.

When she reached the edge of the village, Fiona looked up and her eyes widened when she saw what was out there. Hundreds of different graves scattered all over the place. There were those for the adults, those for the elderly, and those for the children who didn't even get a chance to live.

In the center of it all stood Van staring towards the ground with no life in his eyes. He looked like he lost the will to live. Fiona stumbled forward until she was right behind him before wrapping her arms around his waist.

Van clutched her hands in the front and let the tears he had been shedding fall down his face. "This was my home; these were my friends, my family. They are all gone now. If I knew our marriage would have caused this, I would have made sure to kill him before it happened. It is only right that I give them these graves after all that they have done for us," Van said in a soft tone.

Fiona looked down at his hands and noticed that they were covered in his own blood. That meant that he had dug most of those up by hand in the time that she was unconscious. She wished she could have helped him but she was worthless for that. She wished there was something that she could do for him.

"V-Van… W-what about Kristi?" Fiona asked in a shaky tone. She had a hope that their daughter got out alive. She then saw the grave look on his face and her hope shattered into thousands of small pieces.

"I am going to kill him Fiona! I am going to avenge all those that have died at his hands! I won't allow him to hurt anymore people!" Van said as his hands clenched in front of him. His rage was becoming too much for him to handle again. Yet he kept control because Fiona was right by him then. She calmed him like no one was ever able to do.

Fiona held onto him tightly. She was afraid he would go nuts like what she had heard he had done in the past when she wasn't there. "Van," she muttered and felt him stiffen in her arms but she just held tighter.

"Fiona, don't tell me no. We both want this greatly. He has hurt too many people and I am not going to let him get away with it," Van said and he felt Fiona's tears soaking into his back. He hated it when she cried. He turned around and wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her.

"No Van. I want you to kill him, but I want to be there with you when you do it. Let me stay by your side until the end. Let me hold you until then," Fiona said as she cried into his shirt because of their loss.

"No Fiona," Van said and Fiona was shocked to hear him say that. "Not until the end, stay with me forever. I want you to be by my side when we face off against him. I won't let you get hurt either," Van said kissing Fiona with more passion than he could ever remember using while kissing her.

Fiona broke away from the kiss and resumed crying into his shirt. "I won't let anything happen to you either Van. We will work together and defeat him together," she said and felt him nod.

* * *

Zack once again ran through the sand storm towards the tent that he had been in several times before. He had a smirk on his face because he knew he had just taken out the one threat to his existence with the destruction of Van's home village.

He came to a stop and walked through the tent door and saw the old woman in her usual position staring deep within the flames before her. She was adding some sort of powder to the fire which caused the flames to once again rise high before lowering back to their regular size.

Zack smirked when he saw the old woman. "What is it that you say about my destiny now old woman? The half blooded zoidian that you predicted would be my downfall has been eliminated from this world. There is no chance that she can finish me now," Zack said approaching the fire making the old woman stop her staring.

"All is as I have said and will be soon enough. The warrior of the people is after your head. Do not underestimate him. He holds a power that is unlike that of any human you have ever seen. The power you seek will eventually be used against you and the half blooded zoidian will ultimately destroy you. The remaining zoidians are turning against you and one will ruin all that you have worked for. Beware," she muttered in her usual monotonous tone as she once again turned her attention completely on the fire.

"How the hell is that even possible? I told you that I have destroyed the half blooded zoidian! So how does it continue to pose a threat to me?" Zack yelled towards the old woman because his attempts at cheating destiny once again were failing him.

"Hatred consumes the soul of the warrior. Only that which he holds dearest is keeping him intact. Should his anger be harnessed and released it will be unlike anything you have ever seen before," she said as Zack's eyes grew wide. "He is coming! The end is nearing! Beware!" she yelled before her body stiffened and she fell lifelessly to the floor.

Zack watched as the woman died before his eyes and for once it wasn't his fault. He felt his hand shaking and had no idea why he suddenly felt so worried. He had faced Van in the state she talked about and Van didn't stand a chance against his full power. So why was no any different.

Zack turned around sharply and stormed out of the hut and towards the dissipating storm. It no longer had the strength to continue working since its creator is dead. 'Flyheight, what is it that your destiny holds?' Zack asked himself heading towards his base.

While walking Zack thought over all that he had been told. "According to the old woman, it is either the rage of Flyheight or the power of the halfblooded zoidian that is to be my downfall. No matter what the old woman thinks, the halfblooded zoidian is dead and I can handle Flyheight's rage just fine. What a senile old bat. The zoidian race is sure to back me in my agenda," he muttered disappearing from view.

* * *

The blade liger came to a halt in the hanger of the base and Van and Fiona hopped out of it with solemn looks on their faces. No one bothered to say a thing to either of them because they had seen that sort of look on Van before and they did not wish to see it again.

Van's eyes were cold, his fists were clenching at his side and he had this urge to hit something hard. He felt Fiona hold on him and he calmed down slightly and managed to keep in the urge he had been feeling.

"Van! Fiona!" Irvine and Moonbay yelled running up to them and froze when they saw the look in Van's eyes. "Oh no," Irvine muttered sadly. He didn't have to be told to know what had happened to Van's village. The look in his eyes could probably kill someone just by staring at them. "I'm sorry you two," Irvine said while Fiona stared at the ground and Van looked off to the side angrily.

"Irvine, Moonbay; we are going to be going after him once we stock up. Please stay here. We couldn't bear it if anyone else we cared for were hurt or killed. We have lost too much of it as it is," Fiona spoke softly as she clutched onto Van's shirt.

"But…" Irvine said but Van gave him a glare and he backed up a bit. "All that I am saying is that you will need all the help that you can get. I mean you don't even know where this guy is," Irvine said trying to think of something that will let him come with them.

"No need. I know where he went," Van muttered walking by them towards his rooms so he could grab a few things before they decided to leave. He came back a moment later with his fathers knife by his side and supplies in his hand. "You are not coming Irvine. Moonbay, please keep him from following after us," van said walking past Fiona and towards the hanger.

"No way! I want to come with you two as well! And there is nothing you can do to stop me!" she yelled as van and Fiona walked on. Her and Irvine followed and were intent on coming along as well.

Van and Fiona ran over to the blade liger and got into it before taking off. Irvine and Moonbay ran to the lightning saix since they knew they wouldn't be able to keep up at the speed the blade liger was going.

"Oh for the love of god!" Irvine yelled when he was about to run into his cockpit but noticed that the inside was completely messed up, courtesy of Van or Fiona most likely. They knew then that there was nothing that they would be able to do because they would never be able to catch up at this rate.

* * *

"Van, do you think it was a good idea to leave them behind. They could have helped us," Fiona said from the back seat of the blade liger but van didn't say a word as he pushed the blade liger to its limits. "Do you know where we are going Van?" Fiona asked a little skeptically.

"As strange as this may sound Fiona, I know where he is hiding. It is almost as if I can feel his evil presence all around me. I know the feeling all too well from our previous encounters with him. As for Irvine and Moonbay, it was the best thing for them. If they come then they will surely be killed and I will not sacrifice any more live to this guy," Van said as he started to shake a little.

Fiona wrapped her arms around his seat and around his neck at the same time. She too was like Van since she had no one else in the world. They had each other and their friends if they survived this but that was all. Fiona had this feeling deep within her that things weren't going to be easy after all of this was over. "So where are we going?" she asked letting her hold on his go.

"From what I can tell, it is an area about three hundred miles from here. There is no guarantee that he is there but it is the best we can do in finding him," Van said staring straight ahead of him with unfocused eyes. In reality, he may put up a strong front but he was feeling weak right then. His anger was giving him some unexplained power though.

"Van, please don't blame yourself for what happened to the wind colony. If you could have protected them then you would have. We were just too slow in getting there. It wasn't your fault though!" Fiona said and she saw van shaking a little more uncontrollably this time.

A tear or two fell from van's eyes upon Fiona's words. "I should have been able to protect them though. I should have been able to protect them and our daughter but they are dead now because I couldn't stop Zack. It is my fault!" Van said slamming his fist down upon the control panel.

"Stop him now then. Prevent him from repeating that tragedy with anyone else. I will be by your side, remember? You will never be alone because you have me, Irvine, and Moonbay to help you get through this. When he is gone, then we can rebuild all that he has destroyed and start anew. We can't replace those that he killed but we can move on and not live by our failures," Fiona said hoping that she could calm him down enough to think clearly in the battle ahead.

"I know we can't but I can't fail those that he killed by getting killed myself in this battle. I will kill him Fiona, only when he is dead can I actually put that to rest," van said and then the blade liger was shaken by and attack. The two of them looked up and saw a genosaurer ahead of them.

Van stared at the genosaurer and it became clear that Zack was expecting them. This was just an obstacle that they had to go through to get to him. "It's not him. Just a decoy," Van muttered launching forwards towards the zoid as it fired a charged particle beam to start things off. Van dodged it and came up from under it slicing the head off before it had a chance to move out of the way.

"Amazing," Fiona muttered noticing that Van didn't even try when he fought that battle. 'We can definitely do this. We can finish it off once and for all,' she thought staring ahead to where their final destination was.


	12. end of time

The blade liger suddenly came from a full blown run into a mere walk all of a sudden while its occupants were traveling in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing around them for miles, not even the smallest signs of a mountain within the distance.

Van brought the blade liger to a stop and stood up as the canopy opened looking around him. He didn't make a move for a while before he suddenly sat down and grabbed a hold of the controls without a word to Fiona.

"Van? Why is it that you stopped? Are we here yet?" she asked looking around without seeing anything around them. She knew not to judge by the appearance of the place because Zack had an interest in underground bases so no one could be sure if there was one here or not.

She looked at Van and his stern face and her heart reached out to him. She knew exactly what he was feeling because she had lost just as much as he did but he was a lot closer to those he lost, like all the people of the wind colony. Fiona never really knew them since she didn't get much of a chance since they were always on the move. They had both lost their daughter and Maria equally so they were both pained so greatly.

Van rubbed his head while shaking it no. "We aren't there quite yet but it feels like he is on the move. He is doing whatever he can to avoid us Fiona. He has finally accepted that maybe he went too far with his stunts. He knows we're after him," Van said as she started up the blade liger again and shot it forwards at full speed but this time in a completely different direction.

"You mean like he is actually afraid of what we would do if we caught up to him?" Fiona asked and Van nodded his head without looking back at her. "He deserves whatever he gets after what he did Van," Fiona said bitterly.

Van was extremely shocked to here those words come out of Fiona. He didn't know that Fiona could have a bitter bone in her body yet here she is agreeing fully with Van in that he should die and without a single tone of regret. It slightly scared him since Fiona is usually a very kindhearted person but it made him happy to see that she wanted this as much as he did. "I agree with you completely Fiona," he said with a small smirk crossing his face.

"There was a time that I could only dream of this day coming Van. When we could be together without fear. Although at the time I wasn't sure that we could ever be together again. That was just before I learned that I was going to have Kristi," Fiona said as a tear escaped her eyes.

"That is if we are capable of coming out of this battle alive," Van said sternly but he felt a tear of his own fall down his face. He wanted to live peacefully with Fiona and Kristi by his side. She was gone now with his sister. "No parent should ever have to go through the pain of seeing their child die," Van said shaking in both sadness and rage.

Fiona just nodded her head shaking from sadness. "Even from the day that she was born, she was so much like you. Kind, loving, and always willing to say what he was feeling inside. Seeing her everyday all those years made my heart break more and more while seeing what we could have had then," Fiona said with a frown but she knew that she wouldn't trade her daughter for anything in the world. It was too late for everything. She died before she even had a chance to live in this cruel world.

Van saddened even more if it was possible. "If there was one thing that I could do back then to make things better, it would be that I would wake myself up so that I could have stopped you from leaving. I wonder what it would have been like if I was able to do that."

Fiona had a feeling that she knew what would have happened. "I had enough troubles then pulling myself to do what I did. I was so unsure of my decisions. I probably would have stayed if you woke up in time to stop me. You can't change the past though. We can't bring her back!" Fiona said breaking into a fit of tears once again.

"He went way too far in attacking my friends and family. He will suffer in hell for what he has done!" Van yelled as a fierceness came to his eyes that not even Fiona's presence could control. He would only be happy when he saw Zack dead.

Van suddenly had a feeling from a place nearby. He knew what it was that he was feeling. He gripped the controls tightly and pushed it forward towards a town that was a few miles away from them. "Got you!' he yelled.

* * *

Zack ran through a deserted town. The old woman's words were really striking deep within him and he didn't know why it was. He didn't know why he suddenly feared Van. He had taken him on multiple times and had come out unscathed.

Every small noise made him jump. He had no idea how it was possible for them to have caught up to him so quickly. They were approaching this village that he had come across and he knew that he wouldn't be able to get away from it fast enough. He knew he would have to fight them.

Zack suddenly came to a stop and a smirk crossed his face and all his fears disappeared. "Why am I running? Just because of a stupid things that some senile old woman happened to mention to me?" he laughed as he stood up straight. "I can finally kill him now and take Fiona for myself just like it should have been.

Flashback

"No!" a voice yelled in a small room that was occupied by. A young Zack stood off to the side watching the argument that was going on. "We can not just hand over our planet to some stupid human," a zoidian yelled slamming his fist down upon the table.

"I assure you that we have no intention of trying to take over your planet. If you will accept our help, we can help to preserve your race!" a human male stepped forward. Zack didn't know much about him but knew that his last name was Flyheight. He hated the man a lot.

"Lies! It is your fault that our race is dying away! If you had never come, the deathsaurer would have never been created and wouldn't have destroyed our people!" the first man yelled walking towards Zack.

"I don't see why we are even arguing over this. We cannot allow our pure race to mix with that of human blood. It is our children that are the future of our race. My daughter will marry and produce a pure blooded child with another one like Zack here. I refuse to see my family's pure blood tainted by that of humans," the woman said calmly placing her hands upon Zack's shoulders.

"Please Amber; you must reconsider your options in this. Our race is dying away; we have no other choice but to allow that to happen. We can all peacefully coexist with each other. Why can't you just allow it to happen?" another zoidian woman stepped forwards pleading her best friend to reconsider.

Amber was appalled that her best friend could actually consider such an option. "How can you consider that sort of option? Don't you have any more pride with our race?" Amber yelled pointing her finger at her former best friend as she stood next to the few humans in the room.

Zack stepped forwards amidst the adults with a smirk on his face. "I agree with Amber. Humans are nothing but a plague to our planet. They should be wiped away to preserve our race," Zack said looking towards the humans who looked at him fearfully knowing that he would be a problem in the future.

Amber stepped forward and placed her hands upon Zack's shoulders with a proud smile on her face. "This child has the right idea for our race. He would make an excellent husband for my daughter in the future," she said lightly pushing him off to the side and stepping towards the rest of them.

Zack took what she said about him to heart. He had always wanted her daughter. Now he even basically had her permission to take her as a wife in the future. He knew that he would always remember that day.

"Well maybe I don't agree Amber!" a male zoidian said stepping forwards so that he was in her face. "I agree with Flyheight here. He can help us protect our race but it will take sacrifices! There aren't enough pure blooded zoidians left to keep our race alive for long. The deathsaurer has gotten rid of all the rest and it is our fault for creating it!" he yelled towards the woman he once considered his wife.

"Almost everyone agrees with their plan but you few are the only ones who continue to disagree. Our races time is nearly finished but I don't wish to see it completely destroyed," the other female zoidian said before she walked out of the room. "My children will see to that even if they are no longer pure blooded," she said as she disappeared from view. Almost immediately, an explosion happened and almost everyone ran out of the room.

Zack stayed behind and watched it all with a smirk on his face. "Zoidians like that don't deserve to live anymore. She got what she deserved," he said before he followed after them with only the thought of the young female zoidian that Amber had basically given to him in the discussion.

End flashback

He had kept that meeting to heart even after hundreds of years since it was finished. The woman that walked out was never seen again and he was glad for that. She could no longer keep to the promise that she made and destroy their race more than they already had.

Zack was taken away from his thoughts when a knife came out of nowhere zooming past his face and jamming itself into a wall. He reached his hand up and wiped at his face on to find blood in his hand afterwards. Anger crossed his face and he turned around to see Van standing a few feet away. Zack was glad that Van didn't have very good aim at that moment or he would have been dead then.

"You bastard!" Van yelled stepping forward towards Zack with Fiona in tow. Both looked highly pissed at him. "You just made the biggest mistake of her life in targeting my family and my friends!" Van yelled suddenly running forward and swinging a fist at Zack. He actually made contact although Zack tried to dodge and it sent him flying backwards.

Zack stood up and wiped the blood from his lip. He was surprised that he failed to dodge that attack since he thought Van was a lot slower than him. At least in their last confrontation when Van brutally dominated. He wished he had taken care of Van then and didn't have to do it now. It had to end because of an interference by Van's friend.

"You just don't know when to give up Flyheight. Your family never did know when to stop. It is a fatal flaw that I intend to rectify right now. You are the last of your family and once I kill you, your family will no longer be a threat to my people!" Zack yelled throwing a punch at Van but he missed.

"I am not as weak as I was last time. I will not allow the outcome to be the same," but was taken off guard when a kick came up and sent him flying through a wall into a building. It accidentally started a fire when a light was knocked over in the process.

Van managed to get up and shook off the attack he saw Zack jump through the window into the room and stare at Van with an intense glare. He caught a kick by Zack and threw it off to the side but it came around and nailed Van in the back. Van hit a wall again and pieces of everything flew everywhere.

Van shook his sore head and jumped when he look off to the side to see a large piece of wood with a sharp end just off to the side of his chest. A few inches over and it would have impaled him. He chuckled nervously as he peeled himself off of the wall carefully.

"It looks like you aren't much stronger than you were the last time we met Flyheight. I hate that name and I will put and end to it now!" he said and then spotted the same piece of wood that Van noticed and grinned before he charged forward at Van.

"Van! Look out!" Fiona said jumping in the way and pushing Van off to the side but not enough time for Zack to notice the charge as he pushed forward and accidentally threw Fiona onto the target that he was aiming Van towards. It impaled directly into his stomach.

"Fiona!" Van yelled in horror upon seeing his wife impaled with the sharp piece of wood. He ran towards her as Zack backed away out of shock of what he had done. He didn't want it to be Fiona that was impaled by it.

It may have been a thing piece of wood but it was still enough to do a lot of damage to a person. "Fiona!" Van yelled again as he carefully pulled Fiona from the wood and placed her on the floor. There wasn't much life left in her and Van knew there was no changing it this time.

Fiona lips quivered as if she was trying to say something. "V-V-Van. I-I'm sorry that I have been so… useless up till now. T-there is no stopping my death now. Please don't let the sacrifices of mine and all the other be in vain. F-finish him o-o-off for everyone," Fiona said cringing with every word that she spoke.

"No! Fiona you can't leave me! Please don't leave me like every one else has!" Van yelled through tears. He saw her look up with sympathetic eyes and he wished she would stop talking so she could save energy.

"You're w-w-wrong Van. They never left you, there are always right here," Fiona said placing her cold hands over his heart. She was smiling though. "I am glad I could do this for you. P-please finish him off for all of us," Fiona said before her breathing suddenly stopped and her hands fell limply to the floor.

"No!" Van yelled as tears swarmed down his face. 'Another one I couldn't protect,' he thought trying to block out the image that he saw when she was impaled. Van pushed himself off the ground and turned towards Zack.

Zack was shocked to see the look upon Van's face. It wasn't one of anger or anything like it but a blank yet determined look. "This is your fault Van. She is dead because of you!" Zack yelled pulling a sword from his belt. It was the same one that Ryan once used to pierce Van with.

"You're wrong," Van said staring at him with his dull eyes. "She died protecting what she fought for. I merely couldn't stop it. Just like I couldn't stop the death of my family and my friends. I can not let them down. If I die, I will make sure you join me in hell," Van said never raising his voice towards Zack.

Zack grew angry and charged at Van with the sword but Van leaned back at the last second and dodged the long blade. Zack did manage to cut open the front of his shirt. He then fell back farther and brought his feet up nailing Zack under his chin sending him flying.

Zack groaned as he once again tried to stand up but got nailed in the side of the head by Van. 'What the hell is going on? I am giving it everything and yet I am losing?' Zack groaned managing to stand up. He looked towards Van and grinned when he saw blood running down Van's stomach where he thought he only cut his shirt.

Van didn't even seem to notice the pain as he stared at Zack with determined eyes. "I can never forgive myself and sure as hell will never forgive you for what you have done to the people of this world," van said dodging another sword attack. He kicked the sword high into the air and caught it before jumping around Zack and slashing his legs with the sword.

Zack yelled in pain as he clutched his cut leg and fell to his knees. He was taken by surprise when the sword came out of nowhere and pierced him in the right side of his chest. He stared at Van before he fell backwards and onto the floor.

Van watched in delight as he finally defeated the man that he had hunted for so long. The one that had killed his family, his friends, the people of Zi, his daughter, and his wife. He suddenly started to feel the pain start to catch up to him in his stomach and he collapsed to the floor. He looked towards Fiona and slowly started to crawl towards her lifeless body leaving a trail of blood in his wake.

Van was breathing heavily when he reached his lifeless body. He clutched her hands and smiled. "I-It's over Fiona. Now we can both die in peace," he said before he collapsed onto her and a pool of blood formed around him as it fell from his body.

The sounds of footsteps were heard approaching the room and a few moments later a woman entered it knowing that this was where the fighting took place. It was none other than Amber and she surprisingly held a young girl in her arms.

"What a pathetic man you are Zack. I could probably kill you right now without any trouble. Oh how I would love to do that after all the suffering you have caused," she said as Zack's eyes opened and he pulled the sword out of his chest but he was incapable of standing because of his legs. One was barely hanging onto him. It was surprising that he wasn't dead already. He always was a stubborn man though.

Kristi looked towards the bodies of her parents and her eyes widened as she jumped out of Amber's arms and ran towards them. "Mommy! Daddy!" she screamed as she shook their lifeless bodies.

Amber looked towards the young girl with sympathy. She managed to save her from the attack on the wind colony but she couldn't save anyone else. "If only I had realized it sooner. I was a fool from the beginning thinking I could keep our race pure. I could have saved their lives," she said with regret in her voice.

"You are no better than me old woman. You were the one that began this. I merely followed in the start," he said chuckling but in pain. He looked towards Kristi and his eyes widened. "No, she is supposed to be dead!" he yelled as loud as he could.

"I can learn from my mistakes unlike you. I saved her life when you attacked that village. I am a failure to my family but I know of one way that I can make up for it all. It is something I never knew I would use to save a human," she said with little hesitation.

Zack's eyes widen in recognition since he knew what she was talking about. Her only power, one that was one of a kind, meant for only her. One that came at the cost of her life and also ruin all that he had worked to change. "You can't!" he yelled trying to stand but he fell.

"I was a failure as a wife, as a mother, and as a friend. This will be my last hope of forgiveness from those I love and those that I have come to love. I will give the world its hope back," she said and walked towards Kristi. She was wrong in her assessment of being able to kill him. He still had a lot more energy in him than she had originally thought. So this was her last hope to stop him.

She kneeled before Kristi and placed her hands upon her shoulders. "I can give you back what you wish for by giving them a second chance. I will never sacrifice your life for it though. Only my life is needed to give them the future they should have had. What do you say little one?" Amber asked giving a small smile at the young familiar looking girl.

Kristi looked towards her parents bodies and nodded her head wildly. Amber picked her up one last time and looked at the bodies of her daughter and her husband. "You will never remember but I want to say that I am sorry for my foolishness. I will give you back the time that you lost," she said closing her eyes focusing upon her power.

"It is a power that shouldn't exist, don't do it!" Zack yelled feeling the energy radiating around her, the power of reversal. He felt things begin to warp around him as her power started to take effect. "No!" he yelled reaching out but it was too late as a bright flash surrounded everything around them.

* * *

Her eyes sprung open in fright and she sat up in her bed quickly holding a blanket around her nude body. She looked around her and saw Van sleeping peacefully. Her mind was a mess as the dreams continued to haunt her sleep. 'No, this wasn't supposed to happen; I shouldn't have let it get that far. This will only make things even harder for us. Why did I have to let my emotions get the better of me?' Fiona asked herself.

She stood up and started to run around the room grabbing her clothes and putting them on. She couldn't stay but she didn't know what she would do if Van ended up waking up to stop her. She had to leave for his sake.

She got dressed and wrote a quick note. She was about to walk towards the door when she felt a hand grab a hold of her wrist. She was afraid of what she would see if she looked at it but it couldn't be helped. She looked and saw Van with his hurt eyes since he saw her trying to leave. "Why?" he asked her wanting an honest answer. He thought he would be able to make her stop after the night they had.

Fiona couldn't help it and broke out in tears and dropped to her knees with her head falling on the bed, clutching herself tightly. "Van, please," she managed to cry out but all he did was lightly take a hold of her and pull her up into the bed next to him where she once was.

"Please don't Fiona," he managed to stutter out as he held her tightly to him. He didn't think he would be able to let her leave. It was too painful to see her trying to leave. He didn't know what he would do if she was actually able to leave.

She suddenly lost all will to fight and she clutched him back. She knew that even if she was to try that she wouldn't be able to leave. 'If he won't let me leave, then I will just have to protect him,' he thought and slowly fell to sleep within his arms.


End file.
